BREEDING AND OTHER HABITS OF CASQUED 

 HORNBILLS (BYCANISTES SUBCYLINDRTCUS) 



By Lawrence Kilham 



Bethesda, Md. 



(With 6 Plates) 



INTRODUCTION 



Description of area. — Casqued hornbills were studied in an area 

 extending from Entebbe, Uganda, to the Mpanga Research Forest 

 located 13 miles to the west. This area is situated on the north flank 

 of Lake Victoria. It is a few miles north of the Equator, at an alti- 

 tude of approximately 3,750 feet. The rainfall is about 50 inches a 

 year, with a peak in November and a peak of heavier rains in April. 

 Temperatures vary little from a range of 60° to 85° F. Entebbe is 

 the administrative center of British Government and is beautifully 

 situated on a peninsula in Lake Victoria. Its extensive gardens and 

 natural features make it attractive to an incredibly rich bird fauna. 

 There are few trees, however, large enough for nesting hornbills. The 

 Botanical Gardens have a small patch of forest where a single pair 

 nested. 



Eastern Uganda consists principally of rolling hills covered with 

 small native farms or shambas. Excellent climate and abundant rain- 

 fall enable natives to raise crops continuously and in wide variety, 

 including bananas, coffee, sugarcane, cotton, and cassava. Small 

 fingers of forest persist along bays of the lake and swampy valleys. 

 Zika Forest, 7 miles from Entebbe, is somewhat more extensive and 

 consists of medium-sized trees. Most of these forest patches are 

 under attacks from natives. Africans are continually collecting fire- 

 wood or trying to enlarge their shambas. The Mpanga Research 

 Forest was the only place I visited with any concentration of large 

 trees furnishing suitable nesting sites. In a sense it is an island, pre- 

 served from encroachment of the ever increasing native shambas. 

 The forest is largely second growth. Some of its trees, however, are 

 150 feet in height. A network of well-kept trails enabled me to move 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLAMEOUS COLLECTIONS, VOL. 131, NO. 9 



