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CHAPTER XVII. 



BURRO WING BIRDS— {continued) 



Nesting of the Hornbills— Dr. Livingstone's account of the Korwe, or Red- 

 breasted HoRNBFLL— The Long-tailed Titmouse— Its general habits- 

 Its use to the gardener— Number of the young— Form and materials of the 

 nest — Localities chosen by the bird — How to prepare the fragile eggs — The 

 Magpie — Its domed and fortified nest — The common Wren and its nest — 

 The Lyre Bird — Origin of its name — Its domed nest — The Albert's 

 Lyre Bird and its habits— The Bower Bird— Why so called— Civilisation 

 and social amusement— The remarkable bower — Its materials and mode of 

 construction — Use to which it is put — The Bower Birds in the Zoological 

 Gardens, and their habits — Love of ornament — Meaning of the scientific 

 name. 



Two groups of large-billed birds are remarkable for their habit 

 of nesting in hollow trees, and plastering up the entrance during 

 the time of incubation. These are the Toucans of America 

 and the Hornbills of Africa. We will take the latter birds as 

 samples. The following interesting account of the Hornbill 

 and its nest is quoted from Dr. Livingstone's well-known work. 



' We passed through large tracts of Mopane country, and my 

 men caught a great many of the birds called Korw^ {Tockus 

 erythrorhynchus) in their hiding-places, which were in holes m 

 the mopane-tree. On the iQth (February) we passed the nest 

 of a Korwe, just ready for the female to enter; the orifice was 

 plastered on both sides, but a space was left of a heart shape, 

 and exactly the size of the bird's body. The hole in the tree 

 was in every case found to be prolonged some distance upwards 

 above the opening, and thither the Korw^ always fled to escape 

 being caught. In another nest we found that one white egg, 

 much like that of the pigeon, was laid, and the bird dropped 

 another when captured. She had four besides in the ovarium. 



* The first time that I saw this bird was at Kolobeng, where 



o 



