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its great head back nearly to its tail for one to stroke 

 its throat. It is certainly a most weird bird with its 

 long broad bill, and I think it must be the ugliest bird 

 one could wish to see. Except for its soft beautiful 

 eyes, which almost speak, it has not one redeeming 

 point. 



In "Wonders of the Bird World," (Dr. Bowdler 

 Sharpe) is the following description of the nesling of 

 the Hornbills:— 



" Here we find tlie female resorting to the hole of 

 a tree and laying her eggs, one or two in number, 

 while the male plasters the hole up and takes upon his 

 .shoulders the support of his wife and child. Anything 

 more fraught with disastrous consequences to the 

 family can scarcely be imagined, for if the poor hard- 

 working husband is shot or otherwise killed the im- 

 prisoned wife and baby run considerable risks of 

 starvation. There would seem, however, to be a spirit 

 of co-operation among Hornbills, for even if the 

 female cannot free herself from the hole in which she 

 is confined, as the natives assert she can do on occa- 

 sion, she may be sure of the assistance of her relations. 

 Thus Mr. John Whitehead relates (' Ibis,' 1890, p. 17,) 

 that he once found a nest of a Hornbill in Northern 

 Borneo, wherein the old hen bird and her youngster 

 were imprisoned in an old tree, the entrance to the 

 hole being secured by a plaster of gums and resins. 

 He found no less than five other Hornbills feeding her, 

 both males and females being engaged in the task. 

 These were doubtless birds which had brought up 

 their own young one, and were free to attend to some 

 one else's needs. Before he discovered the nest Mr. 

 Whitehead shot three of the birds, but the next day 



