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Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

Common Scimitarbill


Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)
Abubilla-arbórea Cimitarra

Family: Phoeniculidae
Order: Bucerotiformes
Class: Aves
Phylum / Division: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

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Synonyms: Falcinellus cyanomelas.

Subspecies:





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Conservation status according to BirdLife International: Least Concern


Description


The common scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas) is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

 Adults weigh roughly 35 grams and 26 cm in length. As adults, their beaks are black but as juveniles, their beaks are grey. Females and juveniles are more brown on the front of their body. They feed almost entirely on insects behind the bark of a tree, which is the reason for their probing beak.

Source: Wikipedia, article Rhinopomastus cyanomelas. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 17/07/2026.





Geographic distribution


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Species photographs

Count: 7

Foto
Photography ID: 648343
  Adult

Parque Nacional Kruger
Mpumalanga
South Africa
10/22/2023
Luis Cesar Tejo
Foto
Photography ID: 443702
  Adult

Sukukuza
Limpopo
South Africa
02/18/2018
Glauco Oliveira
Foto
Photography ID: 218013
 
Nata
Central
Botswana
08/27/2017
Hugo Caverzasi
Foto
Photography ID: 150995
  Adult

Kakamega
Central
Kenya
02/16/2015
Susana Gomez
Foto
Photography ID: 150994
  Adult

Kakamega
Central
Kenya
02/16/2015
Susana Gomez


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Species vocalizations

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Species videos

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Species reports



 Detail of places sorted by number of records






Species records

Count: 15



Page 1 of 2
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
234404922/10/2023South AfricaMpumalangaParque Nacional KrugerLuis Cesar Tejo
194566520/10/2023South AfricaMpumalangaParque Nacional Kruger2Daniela Espinosa
112002828/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionPastizales Sobre el Camino Victor Hugo Michelini
95997128/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionQueen Elizabeth National Park1Diego Oscar
113014426/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionQueen Elizabeth National ParkVictor Hugo Michelini
95982626/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionQueen Elizabeth National Park2Diego Oscar
113755624/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionEntrance Road, Lake Mburo National ParkVictor Hugo Michelini
113746124/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionLake Mburo National ParkDiego Oscar
114427223/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionLake Mburo National ParkVictor Hugo Michelini
95959323/07/2019UgandaWestern RegionLake Mburo National Park2Diego Oscar
Page 1 of 2

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas) – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 14/09/2026.