112 BUCEKOTID.E LOPHOCEROS 



Sicleroxylon inerme and Schotia speciosa, are those perhaps most 

 frequently made use of. A hollow of considerable size is necessary 

 to contain so large a bird, and under usual circumstances the mode ' 

 of access to the interior is by an accidental hole large enough for 

 the bird to pass in ; this hole is afterwards plastered up by the 

 birds, except for a narrow slit through which the female, who is now 

 inside, is able to pass the tip of her bill to receive food from the 

 male outside. 



Another exceptional arrangement has been described by Schon- 

 land ; in this case the tree selected, a Euphorbia, was a hollow 

 chimney throughout its length, and at a convenient distance below 

 a natural crack, which was to serve as a feeding hole, a floor was 

 constructed upon which the eggs were laid ; while about three feet 

 above the feeding crack a ceiling was put in ; this latter being con- 

 structed of bits of an aloe stem glued together by cement ; thus the 

 hen bird is completely enclosed. There can be little doubt that the 

 cement used for plastering up the holes and forming the platforms 

 is chiefly composed of the droppings of the birds ; it usually contains 

 the wing cases and legs of insects such as form the greater part 

 of their food, and moreover, an examination of the contents of the 

 lower part of the intestines of a recently killed bird showed that 

 these much resembled the cement used. It is probable that both 

 male and female birds take part in the cementing process, though 

 observations are still required on this point. 



The female before entering the nest begins to moult, and during 

 her imprisonment, which probably lasts seven or eight weeks, the 

 process continues, so that she is often helpless and unable to fly 

 when she comes out ; it does not appear to be true, however, that 

 she is weak and exhausted by her durance as she is generally found 

 to be very fat, and, moreover, the male is very assiduous in bringing 

 food constantly. 



The eggs, three to four in number, are laid in December or 

 January and are pure white, rough, unpolished, and rather elongated: 

 One question not yet definitely settled is whether the female leaves 

 the nest before the young are fully fledged. Dr. Schonland thinks 

 that she does, as he has received late in the season two nests plas- 

 tered up and intact, both of which contained only young birds. This 

 is further corroborated by the observation of several people that they 

 have seen two birds flying away from one nest, and which were 

 supposed by them to be males, but which were probably a pair, the 

 young birds remaining imprisoned in the nest. It seems most 



