THE PIED HORNBILL 



(Bztceros bicornis) 



THE hornbills, which are as large as big eagles, are some of the most extra- 

 ordinary and bizarre of all birds, not only on account of the huge beaks 

 from which they take their name, but from their strange and unique 

 nesting-habits. In the enormous development of the beak these Old World birds 

 are paralleled by the toucans of tropical America, although the two groups are 

 in nowise nearly related. Such a huge and apparently unnecessary structure might 

 at first sight seem too heavy and bulky for the bird by which it is carried ; but 

 internally the beak is generally a mere delicate tissue of bone, so that its weight 

 is really very slight. Indeed, these enormous beaks are in most cases probably 

 much less of an incumbrance to their owners than are the matinee hats favoured 

 by ladies of the present day. 



The pied, or double-horned species, the hornray of the natives, inhabits the 

 dense forests of the Indo-Malay countries from the Himalaya and the Indian 

 peninsula to the south of China and Sumatra. The glossy plumage is mostly 

 black above, with the under-parts, the neck, the tips of the flight feathers, and the 

 tail feathers more or less white or whitish, the upper half of the huge beak, with 

 its horn-like appendage, being reddish yellow, and the lower half yellow. The 

 total length of the bird, which is the largest member of the whole group, exceeds 

 a yard. The so-called "horn," or casque, forms a more or less flat and oblong 

 platform on the upper part of the beak and the fore part of the head, terminating in 

 front in two obtuse corners. On the other hand, the same appendage in the 

 nearly allied rhinoceros-hornbill, or engan {Buceros rhinoceros), is much more 

 horn-like, as it turns up into a recurved point in front. 



The range of the hornbill group includes Africa, India, Malaya, Celebes, 

 and New Guinea and the neighbouring islands as far as the Solomon group. 

 The ground-hornbills are solely African, while the hollow-casqued section has 

 a distribution equivalent to that of the group. One very remarkable Malay species, 

 the solid-billed hornbill, the teban-mertua of the Malays {Rhinoplax vigil), differs 

 from all the rest in having the beak and casque solid. This species is much 

 hunted by the Chinese for the sake of its beak and casque, which have a structure 

 resembling ivory, and are used as a substitute for that material in carving ; while 

 it is further remarkable for its bare neck and the elongation of the middle pair 

 of tail feathers. 



The flight of hornbills is heavy and noisy, the swishing sound pro- 

 duced by the wings being audible at a great distance. The whole body of these 



