African Ground Hornbills 503 



surface of the gizzard and is pushed off entire, retaining, of course, all the sinu- 

 osities, elevations, and depressions of the mucous folds of that organ. This is 

 apparently an adaptation which permits of the male supplying the female with 

 sufficient food at one visit to last her for some time, thus obviating the necessity 

 of repeated visits, which would be likely to disclose the location of the nest, though 

 it is difficult to understand how such condition could have been developed. 

 The interval of time between the production of these sacs is unknown, but if it 

 is the only or usual manner in which food is passed to the female, the develop- 

 ment must of necessity be limited to a few days at most. In any event, the 

 female appears to be abundantly supplied with food, for, as above stated, when 

 removed from her prison, she is found to be fat. 



Food. The food of the Hornbills is considerably varied, consisting prin- 

 cipally of fruits and insects, but also of snakes, lizards, small mammals, birds, 

 and eggs, as well as flowers, growing shoots, and among the ground-inhabiting 

 species of roots, tortoises, etc., and in fact about everything that comes in their 

 way. They usually beat the life out of such animals as they capture and swallow 

 them whole, by a backward jerk of the head, as they do all their food. 



The Hornbills number about seventy species, and, according to Sharpe, 

 are disposed among twenty-one genera, but there is not complete agreement 

 among ornithologists as to the number of genera that can be satisfactorily 

 recognized. They are all natives of the Old World, ranging from Africa through 

 the Indian and Malayan countries to Celebes, New Guinea, and Solomon Islands, 

 nearly half of the species being confined to Africa. They have been separated 

 somewhat roughly into three groups, sometimes called subfamilies, the Ground 

 Hornbills (Bucoracina}, the True Hornbills (Bucerotina) , comprising the majority 

 of the species, and the Solid-casqued Hornbills (Rhino placing, with a single 

 genus and species. 



African Ground Hornbills. Of the Ground Hornbills there is but a single 

 genus (Bucorax) and two species, both African. They are large birds, forty 

 to forty-three inches long, and have the entire plumage black, except the prima- 

 aries, which are white. They differ principally in the form of the casque, this, 

 in the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill (B. abyssinicus] of Northeast and West 

 Africa, being wide open in front, while in the South African Ground Hornbill 

 (B. caffer] it is closed or only slightly open. A further mark of difference is 

 the color of the bare skin of the neck and around the eye, this being blue in the 

 first species and bright red in the second. While the habits of the two species 

 are apparently similar, those of the South African bird are perhaps better known. 

 This species, known to the Boers as the Brom-vogel, is not uncommon in many 

 parts of the country, keeping much to the open or sparsely wooded districts, 

 and usually seen in small parties of a dozen or less, although occasionally con- 

 gregating in large flocks. Their superstitious regard by the native black men 

 is well known, as the following account from Mr. H. Bouker attests: "There 

 are many superstitions connected with the Brom-vogel, the bird being held sacred 

 by the Kaffirs, and is only killed in times of severe drought, when it is killed 

 by order of the 'rain-doctor,' and its body thrown into a pool in a river. The 



