THE GREAT HORNBILL 169 



light that made one forget all the trouble encountered in 

 getting here. It seems as if the places least visited by 

 men are the most attractive. 



Four hornbills were flying about. They settled on 

 the branches of a tall dead tree that towered high above 

 the jungle and deported themselves in strange ways, 

 moving busily about on the branch; after a few min- 

 utes three of them flew away, the other remaining quietly 

 behind. There are several kinds of hornbills; they 

 are peculiar birds in that the male is said to close with 

 mud the entrance to the nest in the hollow stem of the 

 tree, thus confining the female while she is sitting on her 

 eggs. Only a small hole is left through which he feeds 

 her. 



The great hornbill {rhino flax vigil) flies high over the 

 jungle in a straight line and usually is heard before it 

 is seen, so loud is the noise made by the beating of the 

 wings. Its clamorous call is never to be forgotten, more 

 startling than the laughter of the laughing jackass of 

 Australia. The sound inspires the Dayak with courage 

 and fire. When he takes the young out of the nest, later 

 to serve him as food, the parent bird darts at the intruder. 

 The hornbill is an embodiment of force that may be 

 either beneficent or harmful, and has been appropriated 

 by the Dayaks to serve various purposes. Wooden 

 images of this bird are put up as guardians, and few de- 

 signs in textile or basket work are as common as that of 

 the tingang. The handsome tail feathers of the rhi- 

 noceros hornbill, with transverse bands of alternate 

 white and black, are highly valued; the warriors attach 



