62 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



bird flutters up the hollow trunk of the tree, but is igno- 

 miniously brought down by means of a thorny stick, 

 which is thrust after her and twisted about until a 

 firm grip in her plumage and flesh is obtained. 



Dr. Hose witnessed an interesting incident in Horn- 

 bill life on Mt. Dulit, and I retail it here in his own 

 words : " Espying on a tree the external signs of a 

 Hornbill's nest, and a male Buceros rhinoceros perched 

 close by, I shot the male, and while waiting for my 

 Dyak collectors to make a ladder up the tree to secure 

 the female, I observed several young male birds fly to 

 the nest and assiduously ply the bereaved widow with 

 food, a fact which seems to indicate a competition ... as 

 severe as that among human beings." 1 



Hornbills are interesting and amusing pets, for they 

 become exceedingly tame, and will follow their owner 

 about like a dog. They are extraordinarily adept at 

 catching food thrown to them, and Mr. Ridley 2 records 

 of a captive Anthracoceros convexus that it would catch 

 the sparrows which flew through its cage, and, after 

 crushing them in its powerful beak, it would throw 

 them up into the air, catch them again, and swallow 

 them whole. In all except one species, Rhinoplax vigil, 

 the casques on the bills of these birds are hollow, 

 or rather partially filled with cancellated tissue, so 

 that they are quite light. In Buceros rhinoceros the 

 casque is brightly coloured, being orange and red ; 

 the pigment is situated in a layer of horny tissue 

 lying immediately under a thin outer transparent layer. 

 It has been observed that this species frequently 

 polishes up its beak by rubbing it against the oil-gland 



' The Ibis (7 Ser.), V. (1899), p. 549. 



* Journ. Roy, As. Soc. S. Br., No. 31 (1898), p. 78. 



