M'jSTLXd iiMiri'^ or 'I'/i/-: .i/'/z/r.i.v iioumiill 



tiiiu's this call is uttci'cil 



(IllI'illL:' till' Inlli;-, (lcc|» 1111- 



(hilaliniis of their cliarac- 

 lcri>lic tliuht and can he 

 heanl at llie (li>lance of 

 hall' a mile. A siwe indi- 

 cation of their |iro\iinity 

 is the |ieciiliar swishiiii:' 

 xiimd made hy them as 



t lie\- |ia>s fruill 1 I'ce to 1 Tee. 

 The lii-eedinL;' liahits (d' 

 li(irnliill> ha\e attracted 

 inucli attention and aiv 

 certainly reiiiarkahle. I'or 

 the male, to all appear- 

 ances, seals the hen 

 perem|iti>rily in a hollow 

 tree, thus forcing her into 

 an iinprisoiiinent often 

 last iiiL;' two niontlis or nii- 

 til the youn.i:' hird is fiill- 

 Hedo-ed. .\s a matter of 

 fad. howcNcr. the parent 

 lurd> act in |)erfect har- 

 mony, their actions heini;- 

 ,s:-overned, apparently, by 

 the concerted idea of shut- 

 tini:' out all troubling in- 

 tluenees that might inter- 

 fere with the successfnl 

 I'aising of their offspring 

 which is hoi'ii in a par- 

 ticularly h(di)less condi- 

 tion, without down, and 

 remains hlind until after 

 the fejilhers l)egin to aj)- 

 ]iear. Though tlie knot- 

 hole .-elected leads into a 

 ca\ it \' liardh' large eirmgli 

 to hold the mother and 

 the young hird. they are 

 less inconvenienced than 



Young liornbills arc most liclidess at birth. Their cyt's remain 

 closed even after the featliers begin to appear, as shown in this 

 two-weeksold bird. So well does the male feed botli female and 

 .voung that their plump condition is proverbial among natives, 

 who are sure to find fat morsels when looting a nest 



This young female hornbill was reared in the tree now on 

 exliibition at the American Museum. The tail folds forward 

 against the back and thus the feathers are never damaged by the 

 crowded condition of the nest. The young usually sit on their 

 heels, which have no spinelike excrescences such as those found 

 in toucans, woodpeckers, and barbets. The bill is rather soft 

 and delicate, and the casque does not appear unt.l later 



one would suppose, for 

 there is a peculiar, hinged joint at the 

 root of the tail so that its long feathers 

 can easily he l'olde(l over the back, thus 

 enabling the l)ird to he comfortable in 

 a smaller space than otherwise would 

 be possible. The grouiul hornbill {llu- 

 corviis), said to build an open nest, is 



])rohal)ly the only exception among the 

 hornl)ills to this general practice of 

 nesting in hollow trees. 



The entrance to the nest is usually 

 situatecl from GO to 120 feet above the 

 ground, eitlier in the main stem or on 

 the lower side of a Itrancb. awav from 



