Gray and Solid-billed Hornbills 507 



fearless bird is easily killed, especially during the heat of the day, when it inva- 

 riably perches on or near the top of a lofty tree, and will remain for hours in this 

 situation, keeping up, with short intermissions, a kind of subdued chattering 

 note of toe toe toe tocke tocke tocke toe, in a tone not unlike the quick yelping of 

 young puppies, and accompanied at intervals by a flapping and raising of its 

 wings and alternately lowering and erecting its head." An allied species is 

 the White-crested Hornbill (Ortholophus albocristatus] of West Africa from the 

 Cameroons to the Congo. 



Gray Hornbills. Closely allied to these, and by some included with them, 

 are the three species of the genus Ocyceros, which inhabit the Indian peninsula 

 and Ceylon ; they are separated mainly on account of their more wedged-shaped 

 tail. The Common Gray Hornbill (O. birostris] is a small species about two feet 

 long, light brownish gray above and white below, while the tail, which is eleven 

 and a half inches long, is brownish with a broad subterminal band of black. 

 This little Hornbill, Mr. Blanford says, "is generally seen in small parties about 

 open jungle, groves of trees, and gardens, but not in thick forests. It lives chiefly 

 on fruit, but occasionally eats insects also. It has a harsh cry and an undulat- 

 ing flight, with alternate flappings and sailings." The Malabar Gray Hornbill 

 (O. griseus] of the Malabar coast is a shy forest species with more rapid and 

 easy flight than the other, and also goes about in small flocks. 



Solid-billed Hornbill. The most remarkable and aberrant genus contain- 

 ing the single Solid-billed or Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil} has already 

 been mentioned. It is a very large bird, nearly five and a half feet in length, 

 of which, however, some thirty-four inches is taken up by the greatly elongated 

 central pair of tail-feathers. It has a nearly straight, sharp-pointed bill of mod- 

 erate length, while the casque is high, flat at the sides, rounded above and 

 squarely cut off in front, all the front part being solid. The whole chin and 

 throat, as well as the neck all around and the middle of the back, are naked. In 

 the male the central pair of tail-feathers are twice as long as the others, though 

 curiously enough it is rare to find a specimen in which both these elongated 

 feathers are present; the sexes are alike in plumage. The general color is brown 

 above and white beneath, with the outside of the wings black tipped with white, 

 and the tail with the central pair of feathers whitish brown and the others white, 

 all being black-banded near the tips. The anterior half of the bill and the front 

 of the casque are yellow, while the remainder of the casque and the basal portion 

 of the bill are crimson; the iris is dark red, and the bare portions together with 

 the legs and feet as well as the skin beneath the feathers is dull, deep red in the 

 male and reddish lilac or blue in the female. This species inhabits the Malay 

 Peninsula, as well as Sumatra and Borneo, being a shy bird of the highest forest 

 trees, where it is usually seen in pairs seeking its food of fruits, for which it never 

 descends to the ground. It has a weak flight but a very powerful note, which 

 can be heard for a distance of a mile or more. " It begins with a series of whoops, 

 uttered at intervals that gradually grow less, after ten or a dozen quick repeti- 

 tions, and ends in a harsh cackling laugh." It is always killed, whenever oppor- 

 tunity offers, for its curious, highly prized bill, which is carved by the natives into 



