of India and Biirmah. 181 



melted from sight into the horizon, as if they had finally left 

 the shore. Where these excursions end it would be curious to 

 know; for the bird is not found on the west shores of the Bay 

 of Bengal. Its most northerly habitat appears to be the hilly 

 jungles on the highest parts of the Koladyn River in Arakan ; 

 but whether it extends into Chittagong or the hills of Cachar 

 and Munnipore I know not. They seem to get more and more 

 numerous towards the south, and on the Houngthrau River, 

 which rises in the southernmost Shan states of Siam, are quite 

 common. The flight of this bird, unlike that of the species 

 before described, is slow and regular ; and the rush of the air 

 through its pinions so loud as to be heard at half a mile distance. 

 This remark applies also to B. cavatus. It is generally wild and 

 wary; at times, however, when feeding on the fruit of some large 

 Ficus (its favourite resort), it will allow approach within gun-shot, 

 and is so voracious as to return two or three times to the same 

 tree after being as often shot at. They settle generally on the 

 large branches near the summit, jumping from place to place, 

 and greedily picking off and swallowing the soft ripe figs of the 

 Banian, Bur, Goolur, Peepul, Pakhur, or similar trees of the 

 Ficus family. They feed usually in silence, and mix indiscri- 

 minately with the numerous fruit-eating Pigeons {Carpophagi, 

 Trerones, &c.) and ^lovLVQy%{Hylobateslar,Semnopithecusp)hayrei, 

 Inuus nemestrinus, &c.), which, similarly engaged, constitute a 

 singularly varied crowd amongst the lofty branches of these 

 gigantic trees, and a picture so remarkable as not to be easily 

 forgotten by the observer. 



The pouch, peculiar to this species, which is plainly visible as 

 the bird flies overhead, with neck extended, appears to be ana- 

 logous to that of the i\.djutant {Leptoptilos arqala), and connected 

 rather with the breathing-apparatus than the alimentary canal ; 

 but I have never dissected it, and speak entirely from inference. 



The female incubates generally about the end of the cold 

 weather, laying two or three eggs in some convenient hole high 

 up the stem of a tall tree in the deepest forests. The Karens say 

 that the female is not immured w^hile sitting, as is the case with 

 B. cavatus. An egg, brought to me towards the end of February 

 1855, is pure white, opake, and coarse on surface ; size 2" by 



