39 2 CORACIIFORMES CHAP. 



from their bulk are restricted to the stronger branches, along which 

 they shuffle awkwardly, even assisting themselves with their beak. 



Hornbills may be met with singly or in pairs, but ordinarily 

 form parties of five or six, if not of larger numbers, gathering 

 together to feed or to roost at fixed spots, which they leave before 

 sunrise. They are not naturally shy, and if disturbed only resort 

 to some neighbouring tree, where they may be often observed 

 sitting on the boughs during the mid-day hours, with puffed out 

 plumage, open bill, and head sunk upon the back as if overcome by 

 the heat. From time to time while perched they elevate or depress 

 the crest and utter loud yelping cries, not uncommonly flapping 

 their wings and bowing their heads ; when feeding they con- 

 stantly chatter in chorus like Parrots, and vanish with shrill 

 screams if intruders appear. The characteristic note, however, is a 

 harsh, continuous sound, intermediate between the bray of an ass 

 and the shriek of a railway engine ; that of Bucorvus abyssinicus 

 has been syllabled " hum-hum," and that of B. cafer, the " Brom- 

 vogel " of South Africa, has been said to resemble a lion's roar, 

 and to be audible for a mile. All the species are apparently 

 most noisy in the morning and evening, or before rain. 



Fruits and insects the latter occasionally hawked for in the 

 air constitute the normal food, but the larger forms devour small 

 mammals, birds, eggs and reptiles, with grubs, flowers, and young 

 shoots ; while Bucorvus, which feeds chiefly upon the ground, 

 and hops rapidly, will eat tortoises, mandioc-roots, and so forth. 

 Berries of Stryclmos and figs seem greatly in favour. Nearly 

 everything is swallowed entire, with a backward jerk of the head, 

 animals having the life beaten out of them previously, and most 

 substances being tossed up into the air. The male has a most 

 curious habit of casting up the lining of the gizzard with its 

 contents enclosed, possibly to feed the female or young. 1 



A hole in a tree or a cavity at the junction of two branches 

 serves for the nest, wherein the hen is enclosed by a plaster of 

 dung or like material ; there, under penalty of death, she remains 

 until she emerges dirty, wasted and enfeebled, when the brood is 

 hatched. From one to four dingy white eggs with coarse pores 

 are deposited upon the debris or a few feathers. Contrary to 

 expectation, observations seem to shew that the female walls 

 herself in ; but, however that may be, the cock feeds her through 



1 A. D. Bartlett, P. Z. S. 1 869, p. 142 ; Flower, torn. cit. p. 150 ; Murie, op. cit. 1874, p. 420. 



