AVES-HORNBILL... RAVEN. 473 



upon carrion. It is said to chase rats and mice, and, after pressing them 

 flat with its bill in a peculiar manner, toss them up in the air, and swallow 



them whole on their descent. 



THE HELMET HORNBILLi 



Is remarkable for having the same prominence of a conical form ; and in the 

 Philippine Isles there is a species, the horn of which reaches backwards 

 beyond the eyes, ending in two angular points, which produce the effect of a 

 bird with two horns. 



THE PIED HORNBILL, OR CALAO OF MALABAR. 



The circumstance which distinguishes it from the rest of its kind, is, that 

 the breast, belly, and a part of the wings are white; the remainder of the 

 body is, like the rest of these animals, black. 



There are about twelve species of the hornbill in all, one of which is white. 



THE RAVEN. 2 



The raven is a bird found in every region of the world ; strong and hardy, 

 he is uninfluenced by the change of the weather ; and when other birds seem 

 numbed with cold, or pining with famine, the raven is active and healthy, 

 busily employed in prowling for prey, or sporting in the coldest atmosphere. 

 As the heats at the line do not oppress him, so he bears the cold of the polar 

 countries with indifference. He is sometimes indeed seen milk-white, and 

 this may probably be the effect of the rigorous climates of the north. A 

 raven may be reclaimed to almost every purpose to which birds can be con- 

 verted. He may be trained up for fowling like a hawk ; he may be taught 

 to fetch and carry like a spaniel ; he may be taught to speak like a parrot ; 

 but the most extraordinary of all is, that he can be taught to sing like a man. 

 I have heard (says a modern writer) a raven sing the black joke with great 

 distinctness, truth, and humor. 



indeed, when the raven is taken as a domestic, he has many qualities 

 that render him extremely amusing. Busy, inquisitive, and impudent, ne 



1 Buceros g-aleatus, Latham. 



2 Corvus cnrax, Lin. The genus Corrns has the bill straight at its origin, thick, com- 

 pressed on the sides, bent towards the point, and edged ; nostrils covered by reflected 

 bristly feathers ; legs and feet plaited ; toes three before and one behind, divided ; tarsus 

 longer than the middle toe ; wings acuminated, the fourth feather longest. 



60 40* 



