How Animals Work. 



to Palembang by water, and while staying a day at 

 a village while a boat was being made watertight, 

 I had the good fortune to obtain a male, female, and 

 young bird of one of the large Hornbills. I had sent 

 my hunters to shoot, and while I was at breakfast 

 they returned, bringing me a fine large male of the 

 Buceros bicornis, which one of them assured me he had 

 shot while feeding the female, which was shut up 

 in a hole in a tree. I had often read of this curious 

 habit, and immediately returned to the place, accom- 

 panied by several of the natives. After crossing a 

 stream and a bog, we found a large tree leaning over 

 some water, and on its lower side, at a height of about 

 twenty feet, appeared a small hole, and what looked 

 like a quantity of mud, which I was assured had been 

 used in stopping up the large hole. After a while we 

 heard the harsh cry of a bird inside, and could see 

 the white extremity of its beak put out. I offered a 

 rupee to any one who would go up and get out the bird, 

 with the egg or young one ; but they all declared it was 

 too difficult, and they were afraid to try. I therefore 

 very reluctantly came away. In about an hour after- 

 wards, much to my surprise, a tremendous loud, hoarse 

 screaming was heard, and the bird was brought me, 

 together with a young one which had been found in 

 the hole. This was a most curious object, as large as 

 a pigeon, but without a particle of plumage on any 

 part of it. It *was exceedingly plump and soft, and 

 with a semi-transparent skin, so that it looked more like 

 a bag of jelly, with head and feet stuck on, than like 

 a real bird." The devotion of the male Hornbill to 

 the care of his imprisoned family is very touching, 



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