456 Lieut. Wardlaw Ramsay^s Notes 



in far larger flocks, flying to and returning from their feeding- 

 places at dawn and dusk. One of my specimens (immature) , 

 from its large size_, may be R. undulatus (Shaw) [Buceros ru- 

 ficollis, BL, J, A. S. B. xii. p. 176), which appears to differ 

 from the present bird only in its slightly superior size, and in 

 having when adult a ribbed plate on either side of the base 

 of the mandible, which does not exist in the immature bird. 



An old Burman one day brought me a lump of earthy 

 composition which he had taken from the nest-hole of a 

 Hornbill, and told me that he had been attracted to the nest 

 by seeing the bird thrust out its bill and snap at a large 

 iguana which was running up the tree. The Burmese have 

 an idea that the plaster which the birds use for shutting 

 up the entrance to their nest-holes is made of earth brought 

 from the four quarters of the globe and mixed with a gum 

 extracted from trees. This composition is much thought of 

 for its supposed medicinal properties ; but in what way it is 

 used I was unable to discover. The Burmese have endless 

 legends about the Hornbill ; and in their poetry and plays the 

 name is continually occurring. The female Hornbill is re- 

 garded by the Burmese as the model of virtue. Iris [S), 

 lake ; bill greenish white, with ridges cream-colour and fur- 

 rows earthy ; base of bill and ribbed part of maxilla vinous 

 brown ; facial skin and a rim round the eye also vinous brown, 

 but brighter ; eyelids pale greenish ; skin of the throat bright 

 lemon-yellow ; legs black. 



The female has the gular pouch turquoise- blue. 



75. Carcineutes pulchellus. 



In the Madras Museum is a specimen labelled ^'Burmah''^ 

 which has the rufous collar nearly half an inch broad. 



78. Halcyon pileata. 



Extends only a very short distance up the Sittang from the 

 sea ; it is unknown in the Tonghoo district. 



79. Halcyon coromanda. 



I never saw the Ruddy Kingfisher in the Tonghoo district ; 

 but the late lamented Lieut. Colonel Lloyd, who has con- 

 tributed so largely to our knowledge of Burmese birds, ob- 



