274 



BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



(R. erythrorhynchus] (Fig. 306) is one of the most beautiful 



species. They are fruit-feeders, but occasionally capture 



insects and small 

 animals. The eggs 

 are laid in hollow 

 trees. 



The Hornbills 

 (Bucerotidce} are 

 even more remark- 

 able than the pre- 

 ceding for the size 

 of their bill, that in 

 some seems almost 

 a deformity ; but, 

 unwieldy as it ap- 

 pears, it is filled 

 with air - cavities, 

 and light in the ex- 

 treme (Fig. 307). 



They are confined to Africa and the Eastern islands. 

 The great two-horned hornbill* of India attains a 



length of four feet, the 



beak ten inches, and has 



a second deck or ridge, 



thus appearing double. 

 The Woodpeckers 



(Pitidce) have straight 



bills, adapted for ham- 

 mering on wood to ob- 



FIG. 306. Yellow toucan, showing enormous 

 serrated bill. 



FIG. 307. Section of skull of hornbill 

 (Buceros), showing air-cavities. 

 \ 



* Their nest-building is most remarkable and applies equally to 

 African species. A hollow tree is selected, in which the female takes 

 her place and forms a nest of feathers, the cavity being immediately 

 walled up with mud by the male, leaving only a small orifice for her 

 bill. The plaster soon hardens and she is a prisoner, fed by the male 

 through the hole until the eggs are laid, hatched, and the young fully 

 fledged. The young are perfectly naked at birth (Fig. 308). 



