22 ABYSSINIAN HORNBILL. 



Cock, which are of a light blue, but turn red upon 

 his being chafed, or in the time when the hen is 

 laying. The colour of the eye is of a dark brown 

 or rather a reddish cast, but darker still as it ap- 

 proaches the pupil; he has very large eye-lashes 

 both upper and lower, but especially his upper: 

 from the point of the beak to the extremity of the 

 tail is three feet ten inches ; the breadth, from one 

 point of the wing to the other extended is six feet : 

 the length of the thighs is seven inches, and that 

 of the legs six inches and five eighths : it has three 

 toes before, and one behind, but they are not very 

 strong, nor seemingly made to tear up carcasses: 

 the length of the foot to the hinder toe is one inch 

 six lines, the innermost is one inch seven lines, the 

 middle two inches two lines, and the last outer one 

 two inches one line. I have seen the Erkoom with 

 eighteen young ones: it runs upon the ground 

 more willingly than it flies, but when raised, flies 

 both strong and far: it has a rank smell, and is 

 said to live in Abyssinia upon dead carcasses. I 

 never saw it approach any of these, and what con- 

 vinces me this is untrue is that I never saw one of 

 them follow the army, where there was always a 

 general assembly of all the birds of prey in Abys- 

 sinia. It was very easy to see what was its food by 

 its place of rendezvous, which was in the fields of 

 ten , upon the tops of which are always a number 

 of green beetles; these he strips off by drawing 

 the stalk through his beak, so that it appears to be 

 serrated, and, often as I had occasion to open this 

 bird, I never found any thing in him but the green 



