THE HORNBILL 191 



Levaillant, an old writer, tells an amusing story of one, 

 a Violaceous Hornbill, which was brought to South Africa 

 and kept in a menagerie, where it preyed on the rats and 

 mice that found their way in between the bars and wire 

 netting. He says : " The Hornbill was a general peace- 

 maker in the menagerie, and whenever a quarrel arose 

 among any of the other birds it immediately ran to them, 

 and by the strokes of its beak compelled them to stop 

 fighting. 



" It even kept the larger birds in awe. I once saw it 

 cause an ostrich to run away with all its speed, pursuing 

 it half flying and half running. In short, it became the 

 formidable tyrant of the whole menagerie." 



This habit of enforcing peace by threatening war was 

 all the more amusing because the immense beak which 

 looked so imposing was really a very hollow weapon, with 

 no great power of biting. In fact, the Hornbill that 

 pretends to use force is very much of a pasteboard 

 warrior. 



The Rhinoceros Hornbill is perhaps the most peculiar 

 and the most striking-looking of the tribe. The horny 

 casque or helmet overtopping the great curved beak, its 

 point curving up while the beak curves downward, is more 

 developed than in any other species. Its colour is " dusky 

 black, changing to greyish white below." The beak, which 

 is some ten inches in length, is a yellowish white, with a 

 red patch at the base. 



This quaint fellow has a curious habit of jumping up 

 and down on his tree-bough with both feet together— a 

 trick imitated by the Dyaks in their dances. The Dyaks, 

 by the bye, are exceedingly fond of the flesh of the young 

 Hornbill, and like to adorn themselves with the tail feathers 

 of the parent birds. 



