66 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes 



majestically than any other bird of Celebes. Its flight is 

 heavy, slow, and noisy, and audible from far away. Its cry 

 is very loud, and not immediately to be distinguished from 

 that of the Black Ape of Celebes {Cynopithecus niger). 



They are often to be seen in pairs together. If the female 

 is shot, the male returns to the spot after having flown 

 away frightened by the shot ; and therefore frequently male 

 and female can be procured. On a tree they are very active, 

 jumping from branch to branch ; they are fond of fighting, and 

 are generally aggressive birds. They are said to fight even 

 with man when wounded ; and they bear small shot without 

 being killed, except when hit in the head. They feed on forest- 

 fruits. The nest is built on the tops of the highest trees ; but 

 I never heard of their practising the habit of allied species, i. e. 

 the males walling the females up with mud; nevertheless 

 I will not say that they do not possess this habit, though it 

 would be remarkable that the natives should be ignorant of it. 



The flesh is held in high estimation as food, being not 

 only valued as a dainty, but for the property it is supposed 

 to have of making men physically strong, the bird being 

 so strong itself. Every one likes to preserve the head ; but 

 only few obtain the bird, because from high trees, where 

 it rests, it can only be shot down with guns. It is always a 

 triumph for a hunter to get a " Burong-taun.'^ They are 

 sometimes brought to Menado as game ; but a specimen costs 

 at least G floi'ins. When my hunters killed one they always 

 asked for the flesh ; I also found it very tasty. 



Many birds are afraid of the " Burong-taun /^ but a small 

 black bird attacks it, as it attacks birds of prey and Crows. 

 It flies round when the Hornbill is on the wing, and pecks 

 it on the head. I saw this myself several times, but could 

 not make out what the small bird was j they were too high. 

 (At Ternate these small birds were called " Benkole.'^) 



Iris light brown to red ; feet black, soles of the feet grey ; 

 claws black ; bill yellow, base brownish, with dark brown 

 bands ; chin brownish red ; round the eyes deep blue ; throat 

 light blue, with a dark blue patch in the middle. The casque 

 is smooth in life ; and the wavy unevenness in dried speci- 



