Little
Ages 3–5
Very thick lines and a few big areas. Easy for small hands.
Hornbill Coloring Pages
Many hornbills live in Africa. This one has a huge curved beak with a bump called a casque on top, so it is easy to recognize and fun to color. It perches on a thick branch with its wing folded and its long tail hanging down below the branch. Children aged 3 to 5 can begin with the little page: very thick outlines, a few big shapes and no background. The kids page, for ages 6 to 8, puts the branch on an acacia tree and adds a sun, a cloud and grass. The detailed page, for ages 9 to 12, has finer lines, feather marks on the wing, hills, two flowers and two birds far away.
Choose a level and print
The same drawing in three levels. Print it from the page or download a PDF.
Kids
Ages 6–8
Thick lines and a simple background to color.
Detailed
Ages 9–12
Finer lines, more areas and patterns for older children.
Color online
Choose a color, then tap an area of the picture to fill it. When you are happy, save it as an image or print it.
Coloring online needs JavaScript. You can still print the pages above.
Real colors to try
These are the natural colors of this animal. Use them, or pick your own.
- feather black
- belly white
- beak yellow
- casque orange
- branch brown
- acacia green
- sky blue
Hornbill facts for kids
- Many hornbills live in Africa, in savannas and woodlands.
- A hornbill has a very big curved beak, which makes it easy to recognize.
- Many hornbills have a casque, a hard bump on top of the beak.
- Hornbills eat fruit and insects, and they pick them up with the tip of the beak.
- Hornbills often perch on tree branches and hold on tightly with their toes.
How to use this coloring page
- Little level: use a yellow crayon for the big beak first, then a dark crayon for the body and tail.
- Kids level: four colors are enough: black feathers, a yellow beak, a brown branch and green leaves on the acacia.
- Detailed level: color the small curved feather marks and feather lines on the wing with a sharp pencil, and leave small white gaps between them.
- In class, ask the children to point to the casque, then let each one choose a color for it.
- Print at 100% on plain paper. Thicker paper helps if you use markers for the large dark feathers.
Pip's idea
Make it a sunset hornbill: color the sky orange and pink behind the tree and keep the beak a bright, shining yellow.
Questions and answers
- What is the bump on a hornbill's beak?
- It is called a casque. It sits on top of the beak like a ridge, and you can color it a different shade from the beak to make it stand out.
- What does a hornbill eat?
- Hornbills eat fruit and insects. The long curved beak helps them pick food up and hold it.
- Which hornbill page suits a young child?
- The little level, for ages 3 to 5. It shows only the bird on a short branch, with very thick outlines and a few big shapes that are easy to fill in.
