Hornbills. 
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THE BIRD WORLD. 
Hornbills. 
By FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S., 
M.B.O.U. 
These remarkable top-heavy-looking birds 
always attract attention in zoological collections, 
whether of living or stuffed birds, though they 
are almost unknown in private aviculture, for 
which their usually large size renders them un¬ 
suitable. They are often confounded with the 
Toucans of iVmerica, but belong to a quite dif¬ 
ferent family, and may always be easily distin¬ 
guished by having three toes in front and one 
behind, as in most birds; for in the Toucans the 
toes are in two pairs, as in Woodpeckers and 
Parrots. Other notable differences are that 
Toucans have a long tongue with fringed edges, 
and Hornbills a very short, plain-edged one, 
while Toucans never have the curious top-storey 
arrangement on the bill which is seen in most 
Hornbills. 
Both in Toucans and in Hornbills the bill is 
really far lighter than it looks, the bony interior 
being of a spongy texture, while the horny 
casque surmounting the bill in the latter family 
is quite hollow, except in one species, the Solid- 
casqued Hornbill ( Rhinoplax vigil), in which the 
front of it is solid. The use of this curious 
adornment is unknown, the best suggestion I 
have heard being one made to me years ago by 
a missionary in East Africa, that it may serve as 
a resonator to increase the power of the voice, 
which is very loud in those birds. Fledglings 
have not this growth on the beak, and the whole 
bill in them is smaller than in adults. 
Divisions of the Family. 
The Hornbills fall into two groups, the 
Ground Hornbills and the Tree Hornbills; the 
former, of which there are only two species, are 
confined to Africa. These are both large birds, 
about the size of Turkeys, with, as the photo¬ 
graph shows, fairly developed legs. These are 
ground-birds and animal feeders, walking about 
in search of such prey as snakes and other rep¬ 
tiles, and insects. They roost, however, on 
trees, and build their nests there, making them 
of sticks in quite an ordinary way. 
Both these species are black, with white 
flights, and chiefly differ in that the North- 
African species has the “horn,” or casque, open 
in front, while it is closed in the Southern kind. 
It is the Northern species ( Bucorax abyssinicus ) 
which is illustrated, the photo having been taken 
from a female specimen. In this sex the skin 
round the eye and on the throat is blue, while 
in the male the throat is mostly red. 
The Tree Hornbills. 
All the other Hornbills, numbering about 
sixty species, belong to this section, and they 
range from Africa, through South-East Asia, 
to New Guinea. They vary much in. size, from 
that of a Turkey to that of a Jav, but all have 
very short legs, as the photographs of these 
Hornbills show, and when they come to the 
ground, a practice few of them indulge in in 
the wild state, they hop about instead of walk¬ 
ing, a habit which has a very absurd appear¬ 
ance in a bird so big as they usually are. These 
tree-haunting Hornbills are mainly fruit-eaters, 
their long necks and bills giving them a reach 
for picking the fruit, which compensates for 
their weight and awkward build; but they do 
not despise animal food, being greedy devourers 
of any small creatures they can snap up. 
Voluntary Imprisonment . 
Their very curious breeding habits have long 
attracted attention. The)'' lay in holes in trees, 
making no nest, and walling up the entrance 
hole of the cell with a plaster of mud and dung; 
sometimes the hen inside does the plastering 
with her own droppings, using her bill as a 
trowel, and sometimes the male helps her from 
outside. In any case, once in, she stays there 
till the eggs are hatched and the young reared, 
being fed through a slit left in the plaster by 
the male; this individual often disgorges the 
food in pellets cased in a gelatine coat secreted 
by his stomach, and is at times assisted by 
bachelor friends. 
The hen in some cases improves the occa¬ 
sion by moulting her flights and tail; no doubt 
imprisonment in the hot, stuffy hole forces a 
moult. But even if full-feathered, she is very 
stiff if taken out, and almost helpless for a 
time. The object of this proceeding is defence 
against monkeys, tree-civets, and other preda¬ 
tory animals, since the birds require a good big 
nesting-hole and cannot be particular about the 
site. The small slit is easily guarded by the 
hen’s powerful bill, and her loud note is well 
calculated to give warning to her mate to come 
and help her. 
Affectionate Pets. 
As may be inferred from these domestic ar¬ 
rangements, Hornbills are very affectionate 
birds, and they are quite ready to show their 
warm-hearted nature to their owners, that is, 
if hand-reared, as most of those seen in cap¬ 
tivity have been. They love to be stroked and 
tickled, and will follow one about, so that they 
could be left at large with their wings intact 
if in a safe place. They are easily fed, as they 
will eat anything, a mixture of raw meat, 
chopped, hard-boiled egg, boiled rice and vege¬ 
tables, with plenty of fruit, suiting them well. 
They very rarely drink, and do not usually care 
about bathing. They are usually kept warm in 
winter, and, being thinly feathered and rather 
sluggish birds, should not be rashly exposed 
to bad weather, though vigorous specimens in 
