106 BUCEROTIDJE 



BYCANISTES 



is then attached to its neck and it is flung into a vley, or sometimes 

 into a river. The idea is that the bird having an offensive smell 

 will make the water sick, and that in order to remedy this state 

 of things rain will fall in great quantities, which will flush out the 

 vley or river. The Ovampos also have a superstition about this 

 bird. When Mr. Andersson asked one of their chiefs to obtain the 

 eggs for him, he replied that it could not be done, as they were soft 

 to the touch, and would fall to pieces on the least handling. 



In captivity this bird makes a charming and delightful pet ; it 

 is very sociable, and loves to come and squat close to one and be 

 caressed. It is most useful in a garden, as it spends a good 

 deal of time searching for snakes, snails, caterpillars, worms, and 

 grubs of all kinds, of which it is exceedingly fond. When it rests the 

 whole length of the tarsus is applied to the ground, and the head is 

 almost withdrawn between the capacious wings, so that only the 

 beak protrudes. It is always hungry and will eat almost any- 

 thing, from bread and butter to the entrails of fish and poultry; and 

 when given a specially dainty morsel, will take it in its beak, and 

 come with wings uplifted and wattle puffed out and show it to its 

 master with much booming. 



Genus II. BYCANISTES. 



Type. 

 Bycanistes, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. ii, p. 171 



(I860) B. buccinator. 



Bill rather short, deep and compressed, either with a large 

 elevated, subcylindrical, compressed casque extending over the 

 skull behind the eyes (as in the South African species), or with a 

 rudimentary casque not rising above the culmen ; head with a crest 

 composed of long feathers ; throat not naked ; tail square, a little 

 shorter than the wing ; tarsus as in Lophoceros ; plumage black and 

 white. Nine species, all confined to Africa, are recognised by 

 Shelley ; only one, the type species, is found within our limits. 



427. Bycanistes buccinator. Trumpeter Hornbill. 



Buceros bucinator, Temm. PL Col. ii, p. 93, pi. 284 (1824). 



Buceros buccinator, Delagorgue, Voy. Afr. Austr. i, p. 110 (1847) 

 [Durban] ; Grill, K. Vet. AJcad. Handl. Stockholm, ii, no. 10, p. 45 

 (1858) [Knysna] ; Gurney, Ibis, 1861, p. 133 [Natal ; Kirk, Ibis, 



