Till-: Will ./>/V-:/' HliM;ii.l.. ;;,..| 



:md wh,-n it is adult it,., d. -I met and beak attain their full proportions. It in said that 

 til- age of ili,- 11, .mi, ill m; ,y IN- known l.\ -hi- U-ak. for that in every year a wrinkle 



j- :xl l.-.i to ili.- number of ill.- fm rows that are found mi tin- I. ill. 



Tli.- obj.-.-i <>f ill.- 1,11-.- li.-im.-t iik.- apjiondage ia very obscure, but the probability la that 

 y aid tin- l-inl in pi-odin-im; id,. l,,u,l n.;. f.,r wdicd it is no celebrated. \Vlin at 



liberty in its native forests, th<> II. .ml. ill is li\.-ly and active, leaping from l-.iiijh to bough 

 with nivat light ne>s, and appeorin- not to U- in id., l .mmod.-d by its Urge beak 



ascends id,- tree by a succession of easy jumps, each of which brings it to a higher branch, 

 an<l when ii has attained the very summit of td,- in-.-. i stops and pours forth a nurccorion of 

 loud rouring sounds, whi< -h can lie heard at a considerable distance. 



The flight of the Hornbill is rather laborious, and iterfonmxl by rapid flappings of the 

 wings. While in the air the bird lias a habit of .-lati.-ring its great mandibl,-* together, 

 which, with tin- noise of the wings, produces a most weird dike sound in the forest depths, 

 which is a fertile source of alarm to tin- timid traveller. 



The food of the Hornbill seems to .-..n-i-t l.th of animal and vegetable matters, and 

 Lesson remarks that those species which indal.it Africa live on carrion, while those tdat are 

 found in Asia feed on fruits, and that their flesh acquires thereby an agreeable and j>e<-uliar 

 flavor something, we may presume, like that of the famous Iamb fed upon pistachio nuts. 

 Perhaps this statement may be too sweeping, and td- birds of both continents may in all 

 probability be able to eat both animal and vegetable food. 



At all events, the enormous beak of the Rhinoceros Hornbill, which is one of the Asiatic 

 species, appears to be made for the express purpose of destroying animal life, as is now known 

 to be the case with t! i corresponding member of the toucan. It is hard to tdink tdat .so for- 

 midable a weapon should be given to the Hornbill merely for tde i>nr]>oe of eating fruits; 

 and when we remember that many of the species are acknowledged to be carnivorous, and 

 that the toucan employs its huge and similarly formed beak in the destruction of small 

 quadrupeds and birds, it is but rational to suppose that the Hornbill acts often in a similar 

 fashion. 



One individual, a Concave Hornbill (Bucero rardtus), which was kept in captivity, was 

 much more attached to animal than vegetable food, and, like the toucan, would seize with 

 avidity a dead mouse, and swallow it entire, after squeezing it once or twice between the saw- 

 shaped edges of its beak. The Rhinoceros Hornbill is said to IN- oftentimes extremely 

 carnivorous in its habits, and to follow the hunters for the purpose of feeding upon the offal 

 of the deer and other game which they may have killed. 



While on the ground, the movements of tde Honiliill are rather peculiar, for instead of 

 walking soberly along, as might be expected from a bird of its ni-, it hops along by a suc- 

 cession of jumps. It is but seldom seen on the ground, preferring the trunks of trees, which 

 Its powerful feet are well calculated to clasp firmly. 



The color of the Rhinoceros Hornbill is as follows : The general tint of the body is dusky 

 black, changing to grayish-white Mow. Tde feathers of the head and neck are long and 

 loose, and more like hairs than feathers. The tail is of a grayish-white, with a Ixild Mark 

 band running across it near the extremity. The enormous bill is generally of a yellowish- 

 white color, the upper mandible being of a beautiful red at its base, and the lower man- 

 dible black. The helmet is colored with black and white. The length of the bill is about 

 ten inches. 



AifOTHER species of this cnrious group is the Wnms-CMWTKD HORXBILL, a bird which is 

 remarkable for the peculiarity from which it derives its name. 



Although not nearly so large as the preceding species, it is a truly handsome bird, and, 

 except by an ornithologist, would hardly be recognized as belonging to the same group as the 

 Rhinoceros Hornbill. Its beak, although very large in proiortion to the rest of the bit 

 not so prominent a feature as In the other Hornl.ilk and ii* Uaiitiful white fan-shaped crest 

 takes off much of the grotesque aspect which would otherwise be caused l.y the large bill. 

 Very little of the helmet is visible in this species, as it is of comparatively small 



Vou FL-T. 



