The African Pied Hornbill lives in forests and wooded farmland in central Africa. It eats fruit and small animals, often feeding high in trees.
It is about 50 cm long. The plumage is glossy black with a white belly. In the male of the nominate race, the outer tail feathers are white and the bill and casque are yellow with a reddish tip.
At Dja Faunal Reserve in southeastern Cameroon, researchers tracked monthly relative encounter rates for six hornbill species around Bouamir Research Station. All six rates rose from 1995 to 1999. In 2017, after the station reopened, the rate for Congo Pied Hornbill, one of four larger species, was similar to its 1999 level. Sampling paused from 2000 to 2016.
From 2017 to 2024, the relative encounter rates of the four larger hornbills, including Congo Pied, declined significantly. The monthly index counted sightings and calls per kilometer walked; surveys covered 132 months and 13,303 km in total. The records came from a 25 km² forest area around Bouamir in the Dja Reserve.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Around Bouamir Research Station in Dja Faunal Reserve, the relative encounter rates of four larger hornbills, including Congo Pied Hornbill, declined significantly from 2017 to 2024.