1832 THE PICARIAN BIRDS 



found singly or in pairs, and, being a comparatively fearless bird, is easily killed, 

 especially during the heat of the day, when it invariably perches on or near the 

 top of a lofty tree (where such are to be found), and will remain for hours in this 

 situation, keeping up, with short intermissions, a kind of subdued chattering note of 

 toe toe toe tocke tocke tocke toe, in a tone not unlike the quick yelping of young pup- 

 pies, and accompanied at intervals by a flapping and raising of the wings and an 

 alternate lowering and erecting of the head." The yellow-billed hornbill is about 

 twenty-one inches in length and has a tail about nine inches long. It is easily dis- 

 tinguished by its yellow bill and by the feathers on the chest being white edged 

 with black. It is found all over South Africa. Another species of Lophoceros, 

 namely the South- African gray hornbill (L. epirhinus], is easily recognized by the 

 pale buff line down the centre of the back, and by having white shafts to the 

 central pair of tail feathers; the head and neck are gray, with a broad white eye- 

 brow; the beak is brown, and the quills are tipped with white; the under surface of 

 the body is white, with the chest brownish gray. Length twenty inches; wing- 

 nine inches. This species, Mr. Ayres says, is a great fruit eater, and lives in small 

 companies. He states that he was once much surprised to hear one of these birds, 

 perched on the top of a small tree, singing very prettily with the voice of a thrush. 

 " I could scarcely believe my ears," he observes, " until I had watched the bird for 

 a considerable time; at last he flew away, and the woods were silent." Mr. Anders- 

 son says that he has found this hornbill in Damaraland and the lake regions of 

 Southwestern Africa. It is seen in small families, rarely exceeding six in number. 

 " In common with the rest of the genus it appears to suffer very much from the 

 heat during the most trying season of the year, when it may be found perched at 

 noon in the shadiest part of the forest, gasping as if for breath. When on the wing- 

 this species occasionally utters short, piercing cries." 



With regard to the Malayan wedge-tailed hornbill {Anorhinus galeritus} a cu- 

 rious experience is related by Mr. -Whitehead, who found a nest of the species in 

 Northern Borneo. He shot three of the birds before he became aware that there 

 was a nest hole in the tree, but on being assured of the fact, he sent one of his boys 

 to climb up and let the old female out. When the native went to do this, he found 

 two or three birds engaged in feeding her and her young one. Mr. Whitehead says 

 that the hole is firmly fastened up with gutta, dirt, and various gums, and the same 

 hole is frequently used, judging by the heaps of excrement at the foot of the tree. 

 He also considers that the plastering of the hole is necessary to protect the helpless 

 birds against the attacks of monkeys, and the huge tree-climbing monitor lizards, 

 which cause immense destruction among the feathered population of the forests. 



In marked contrast to the light and cell-filled casques of the other 



Hornbills memDers f the family, the beak of the solid-billed hornbill (Rhinoplax 

 vigil} has, as already mentioned, a perfectly solid casque; on which 

 account this bird is referred to a separate subfamily. In this species the beak has 

 the consistence and appearance of ivory, and is indeed carved by the Chinese in the 

 same way. The species in question is an inhabitant of Southern Tenasserim s the 

 Malayan Peninsula, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. In addition to its 

 solid bill, it is remarkable for having the whole of the throat and back of the neck,. 



