We now ar- 

 rive at case 

 seventy-two, in. 

 which a bird 

 with a gigantic 

 beak arrests our 

 attention. This 

 is the Indian 

 Horn -bill de- 

 picted in the 

 liunexed illus- 

 tration. Itsbody 

 exceeds that of 



the largest ra- • v r i 



ven, but is very lean and incompact. It is behevea 



feed chiefly on fruits, although it will seize upon rep- 

 ^'les when pressed by hunger. Its freedom from any j 

 Offensive smell, and the excellence of its flesh, which is 

 mucli esteemed as an article of food, go far to prove 

 that its habits are chiefly frugivorous. In a domestic 

 state it will eat meat raw or dressed. Notwithstanding 

 the size of the beah, the tongue is very small, and not the 

 least singular feature in their economy consists in their 

 feeding greedily and witliout injury, upon the seeds of 

 tlie mix vomica. Subjoined is a 

 slveleton of the benk, interest- 

 ing as an object of natural his- 

 tory, chiefly for the better uji- 

 f lerstanding and appreciation of 

 the enormous weight this bird 

 ' has to carry. I'hese bills, or 

 beaks, are toothed along the 

 edges, and are generally sur- 

 mounted bj^ an additional liorny structure, which bestows 

 on them a very striking and j>eculiar physiognomy. 

 These bony excrescences vary considerably with the 

 age of the bird, being scarcely perceptible in the young. 

 When flying, their unwieldy beaks and lengthened tails 

 cause them to exhilnt a most sing-ular and awkward 

 aspect; indeed their appearance altogether is exceed- 

 ; ingly uncouth. Yonder is the Woodpecker, a small 

 I but attractive bird, Avhose curious propensities for 

 ! tapping the hollow-tree bougli" will not suffer us to 



