250 A HAND-BOOK OF THE MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 



occasionally given as a change to sharpen their appetite. Their 

 manner _ of ^ taking food is characteristic, and unless therefore the 

 boiled rice is made into pellets or balls they cannot take it ; the minced 

 meat may also be mixed up with the boiled rice when making the 

 pellets ; all sorts of berries and figs whenever available should be given 

 them, but when these are not to be had, plantains cut up into bits 

 should be substituted. Hornbills are voracious feeders, and are there- 

 fore expensive birds to keep. Young birds should be fed several times 

 a day, and it may be necessary to feed them by hand. 



Breeding. — Hornbills have never bred in captivity here. It may 

 not be uninteresting to mention in this connection the singular habit 

 of the male " of enclosing the female in the hollow of some tree, firmly 

 fastening her in by a wall of mud, and keeping her a closed prisoner 

 until the eggs are hatched." 



Transport. — A hornbill is easy to transport, as it is not an excitable 

 creature. Its travelling cage ought to be somewhat higher than the 

 size of the bird may require, as it is accustomed to jerk up its bill when 

 feeding. 



Teeatment in sickness. 



Severe cold, inflammation of the lungs, rheumatism, intestinal 

 worms, diarrhoea and other undetermined forms of diseases have been 

 met with amongst these birds. Young birds have sometimes suffered 

 from rheumatism during the winter, but recovered with the setting in 

 of the warm weather; cold and diarrhoea have often been found to 

 follow each other, and as often yield to careful dieting and nursing ; 

 the first requisite, of course, being the removal of the patient to a snug 

 handy cage, where it can be handled without causing much annoyance 

 to it. One drachm of rum and ten drops of syrup of lactate of iron are 

 generally effective when there is diarrhoea and cold. If there be any 

 difficulty of breathing, five to eight grains of chlorate of potash in water 

 may be given with good result. 



Observations on the habits of Hornbills. 



Although generally shy in their wild state, hornbills become very 

 tame in captivity, so that it is not unusual to observe them coming 

 to the side of the cage ready to respond to friendly greetings. This 

 trait of character is especially noticeable in certain species, such as the 

 small pied hornbill. Rhinoceros hornbills have also been known to get 

 wonderfully tame within a few days after their arrival. The flight of 

 the hornbill, especially of the larger species, is laboured and heavy, and 

 accompanied by much whirring noise. They have a carious habit of hop- 

 ping about sideways, not only on the perch which may be necessary, but 

 on the ground also. Young hornbills have a plaintive cackling note 

 which they keep on uttering almost continually, but more especially 

 when hungry ; the adult pied hornoill has a somewhat pleasing metallic 

 sound which it quickly and repeatedly utters several times ; the 

 homrai, though usually a silent bird, sometimes makes a loud and 

 very deep noise which may be heard from a very long distance. For 

 further information Elliot's Monograph of the Buccrotidse, or family of 

 the Hornbill, may be consulted. 



