biology

Tockus

Tockus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tockus rather than just read about it. In short: Tockus is a genus of birds in the hornbill family, Bucerotidae, that are native to Africa. Taxonomy The genus Tockus was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson.

Key takeaways

Tockus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tockus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tockus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tockus is a genus of birds in the hornbill family, Bucerotidae, that are native to Africa.

Taxonomy The genus Tockus was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson. He listed three species in his new genus but did not specify a type species. In 1840 the English zoologist George Gray selected the type as Buceros erythrorhynchus, the northern red-billed hornbill. The genus name is derived from a word used by local people in Senegal for a hornbill.

Description Hornbills in the genus Tockus are medium-sized African birds with triangular shaped curved bills. They can be found in tropical and sub-tropical African grasslands, forests and savannahs. They all have long tail feathers which are black on the exterior and white on the interior.

Species The genus contains the following ten species:

Tanzanian red-billed hornbill, Tockus ruahae – central Tanzania Western red-billed hornbill, Tockus kempi – Senegal and Gambia to south Mauritania and west Mali Damara red-billed hornbill, Tockus damarensis – southwest Angola, north Namibia and west Botswana Southern red-billed hornbill, Tockus rufirostris – Malawi and Zambia to south Angola and Transvaal Northern red-billed hornbill, Tockus erythrorhynchus – south Mauritania through Somalia to northeast Tanzania Monteiro's hornbill, Tockus monteiri – southwest Angola to central Namibia Von der Decken's hornbill, Tockus deckeni – Ethiopia and Somalia to central Tanzania Jackson's hornbill, Tockus jacksoni – south South Sudan, southwest Ethiopia, northeast Uganda and west Kenya Southern yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus leucomelas – south Eastern yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus flavirostris – Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia to north Tanzania

References

Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Robert's Birds of South Africa, 6th Edition

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tockus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tockus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tockus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tockus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tockus

In research: Tockus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tockus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tockus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird genera, Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa, Bucerotiformes stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tockus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tockus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tockus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tockus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tockus in simple terms?

Tockus is a genus of birds in the hornbill family, Bucerotidae, that are native to Africa. Taxonomy The genus Tockus was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson.

Why does Tockus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tockus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tockus.