THE SUN-BIEDS. 359 



Like the toucans, the Indian Hornbills make their nest in 

 the hole of some decaying tree, sometimes plastering up the 

 entrance with mud, so as to leave but a small aperture, a 

 practice which the Korwe, a species of African Hornbill, seems 

 invariably to follow. 



The female having entered her breeding-place, in one of the 

 natural cavities of the mopane tree, a species of Bauhinia, the 

 male plasters up the entrance, leaving only a narrow slit by 

 which to feed his mate, and which exactly suits the form of 

 his beak. The female makes a nest of her own feathers, lays 

 her eggs, hatches them, and remains with the young till they 

 are fully fledged. During all this time which is stated to be 

 two or three months, the male continues to feed her and the 

 young family. The prisoner generally becomes quite fat, and is 

 esteemed a very dainty morsel by the natives, while the poor 

 slave of a husband gets so lean and weak, that on the sudden 

 lowering of the temperature, which sometimes happens after a 

 fall of rain, he is benumbed, falls down, and dies. 



The first time Dr. Livingstone saw this bird was at Kolobeng, 

 where he had gone to the forest for some timber. Standing by 

 a tree, a native looked behind him and exclaimed, 'There is the 

 nest of a korwe.' Seeing a slit only about half an inch wide 

 and three or four inches long in a slight hollow of the tree, and 

 thinking the word korwe denoted some small animal, he waited 

 with interest to see what the Bechuana would extract. The 

 latter, breaking the clay which surrounded the slit, put his arm 

 into the hole, and brought out a tockus, or red-beaked hornbillj 

 which he killed. 



The brilliant Sun-birds or Suimangas (Cinnyris) of Asia 

 and Africa, are the Colibris of the old world, equally ethereal, 

 gay, and sparkling in their motions, flitting briskly from 

 flower to flower, and assuming a thousand lively and agreeable 

 attitudes. The sunbeams glittering on their bodies make them 

 sparkle like so many gems. As they hover about the honey- 

 laden blossoms, they vibrate rapidly their tiny pinions, pro- 

 ducing in the air a slight whirring sound, but not so loud as 

 the humming noise produced by the wings of the colibris. 

 Thrusting their slender beaks into the deep-cupped flowers, 

 they probe them with their brushlike tongues for insects and 

 nectar. Some are emerald green, some vivid violet, others 



