THE EHINOCEROS HORNBILL. 
161 
Buceros Rhinoceros lives on trees^ among hills of consider- 
able elevation^ and that it seems particularly sociable with 
its kind ; for two are generally seen together, and, if one 
loses sight of the other, it may be heard crying ^^hok-hok/' 
till its mate is found. The loud cry of this bird is chiefly 
heard in the morning and evening. It forms its nest in holes 
of trees, the female laying two white eggs. 
The feathers of the Hhinoceros Hornbill, and also the 
beaks, are used' as ornaments of their war-caps by the Kyans, 
one of the tribes of Borneo : the skin of the bird^s neck is 
stretched so as to cover the framework of the cap. This is 
the largest and most common species about Sarawak. Mr. 
Low describes the rushing noise made by a hornbill, fly- 
ing overhead, even though at a very great height, as being 
greater than that of any other large bird he had observed. 
The flight of the hornbill is steady, regular, and straight, 
like that of a crow. Their favourite places of residence are 
on the highest trees, on the most lofty mountains ; but the 
fruit of a species of fig often tempts them to come down to 
the plains. Miiller says they are fond also of a species of 
Sideroxylon and Mceocarpns, They are generally seen in 
smaU flocks of from three to six individuals^. We have 
* Low's ' Sarawak,' pp. 329, 396. 
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