300 SYNDACTYLY. 



the forests^ where they perch upon the highest 

 branches. During flighty their head is dra^vn back, 

 and the movement of their ^vings is very rapid, pro- 

 ducing a considerable rushing sound as the birds 

 pass through the air. This is heightened by a 

 constant clattering of their large mandibles, and 

 the occasional utterance of a loud croak. In fact, 

 according to Lesson, the noise produced by a flock 

 of Hornbills when passing along in the air is very 

 alarming to those who are unaware of its origin, for 

 it has no distant resemblance to one of those sudden 

 and violent winds which often come on unexpectedly 

 in tropical climates. " Their voice is composed 

 of the transient blast of a bugle and the sudden 

 hiss of an exploding sky-rocket ; they seem to 

 utter these, calls periodically, without any obvious 

 reason, as if to relieve the monotony of their still 

 and melancholy lives. •'^ An Abyssinian species is re- 

 ported by Major Denham to live upon insects, fish, 

 and serpents, to the latter of which it is directed by 

 a special instinct. " It discovers their ^acinity while 

 they are yet under ground, digs on the spot, destroys 

 the nest, and feeds on the venomous inhabitant and 

 its eggs." The Hornbill makes its nest in the hole 

 of some decaying tree, plastering up the entrance 

 with mud, so as to leave a very small aperture. The 

 following account of the nest of the Red-breasted 

 Hornbill is given by Dr. Livingstone : — '' The first 

 time that I saw this bird was at Kolobeng, where I 

 had gone to the forest for some timber. Standing 

 by a tree, a native looked behind me, and exclaimed, 

 ^ There is the nest of a Korwe.'' I saw a slit, only 

 about half an inch wide and three or four inches 

 long in a slight hollow of the tree. Thinking the 

 word ^ Korwe ' denoted some small animal, I waited 

 with interest to see what he would extract. He broke 

 the clay which surrounded the slit, put his arm into 

 the hole, and brought out a Tockas or Red-breasted 

 Hornbill, which he killed. He informed me that 

 when the female enters her nest she submits to real 



