TOCKUS MONTEIRI. 



MONTEIEO'S HOENBILL. 



Toccus monteiri, Hartl. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1865) p. 87, pi. 5. 



Tockus monteiri, Gum. in Anderss. Birds of Damara Land (1872) p. 208; Sharpe, ed. Lay. B. of S. Afr (1875) 

 p. 129. sp. 120. 



Buceros monteiri, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) part ii. p. 130. sp. 7900; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) 

 p. 501. 



Hab. Damara Land (Andersson) ; Benguela, Angola (Monteiro). 



This species is but little known, as it appears to be a rare bird even in its own country. 

 It was described by Hartlaub (I. c.) from specimens obtained by Mr. Monteiro in Benguela, West 

 Africa. It has also been procured by Andersson in Damara Land. A great difference exists in 

 the size of the bill between the male and female, that of the latter being quite small in 

 comparison with that of her mate. 



Mr. Monteiro, in his work on Angola and the river Congo, states : — " The Toccus elegans 

 (T. flavirostris) and the T. monteiri are very odd birds in appearance and habits. I found that 

 their food consisted of grubs, grasshoppers, and other insects, hornets' nests and hard seeds. 

 They dig in the sand with their long curved bills when seeking their food, throwing the sand 

 behind them with their legs. They look very comical when sitting on a tree, their soft feathers 

 puffed out like those of an Owl ; and they raise and depress their crest-feathers, uttering loud, 

 long-drawn, unearthly cries, like the squall of a sick baby. 5 ' He goes on to say that the natives 

 state that the female imprisons the male in a hollow of some tree, and obliges him to hatch out 

 the eggs, thus reversing the habits of the other species of this family, and of most families 

 generally. He endeavoured to verify this statement, and offered a large reward for a nest ; but 

 the natives were unable to discover one for him. It would seem probable that they had mistaken 

 the sex, although the great difference in the size of the bill between the sexes of T. monteiri would 

 cause either to be readily identified even at a considerable distance. 



According to Andersson this species is not common in Damara Land, where it is generally 

 found in pairs, though occasionally half a dozen may be seen in proximity to each other. Being 

 shy, it is a difficult bird to approach, except in hot weather. It perches on the tops of trees, but at 

 the slightest alarm betakes itself to flight, seldom, however, going far at a time, and progresses by 

 dipping and rising alternately like a Woodpecker. He had often found much gravel in the 

 stomach, and flushed it frequently from the ground, whither it resorts to pick up sand as well 

 as food. 



Adult jlfafe.— Bill very long, curved, yellowish red, turning to dark purple near the tip. A 

 deep groove runs along the entire length of the maxilla, following the curve of the culmen, which 





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