78 BIRDS IN SINGAPORE. 
is often to be seen sitting on bamboos or the tops of small 
trees, whence it darts off in pursuit of insects. When burning 
scrub, the birds often come to catch the grasshoppers driven out 
by the fire, and at the first puff of smoke, they would hasten to 
take up their position on the nearest small tree and commence 
dashing into the smoke after their prey. The bee-eater nests 
in sandy places, making burrows in the ground, the sandpits 
on the Serangoon Road being a favourite resort. 
The green bee-eater, Merops philippinensis, is less common 
than the M. sumatranus, but may be seen from time to time. It 
is distinguished easily by the absence of the chestnut colour on 
the head and neck of the commoner kind. 
For some reason Hornbills are very seldom to be seen in 
Singapore, although there is a good deal of suitable jungle for 
them, for they are strictly forest birds living on the wild nut- 
megs, and other large jungle fruits. The small black and white 
hornbill ,Anthracoceros convexus, (* Burorg Enggang,”’) I have 
once or twice seen on Bukit Timah. I had one in captivity for 
some time which became very tame and was wonderfully clever 
in catching bits of bread thrown at it. It used to be very quick 
‘at catching sparrows if they imprudently flew through its 
cage. When caught it would crush them with its powerful 
beak and throwing them up in the air catch and swallow 
them. The only Hornbills I have ever seen in the gardens 
were a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills (Buceros rhinoceros), 
which appeared to be resting in one of the big trees in the gar- 
den in the course of a long flight. This kind is the largest of our 
hornbills; it is black and white, with a very large beak, the casque 
of which is turned up at the end. The beak and casque are 
naturally white, but during life are coloured orange and red. This 
is done by the bird itself, which every morning rubs its beak 
against a gland beneath its tail whence exudes an orange-red 
liquid which colours the beak. When acaged bird is unwell this 
gland produces but little of the colouring matter, so that the beak 
looks pale coloured, and gives a good clue to the state of the 
bird’s health. 
Parrots and paroquets are not as abundant in the matter 
of species as is naturally expected in a _ tropical country, but the 
few species we have are not as a rule deficient in point of num- 
bers. The common long tailed paroquet, Paloeornis longicauda 
