68 
PICARIAN BIRDS. 
silent.” Mr. Andersson says that he has found this hornbill in Damaraland and 
the lake-regions of South-Western Africa. It is seen in small families, rarely 
exceeding six in number. “ In common with the rest of the genus it appears to 
suffer very much from the heat during the most trying season of the year, when 
it may be found perched at noon in the shadiest part of the forest, gasping as if 
for breath. When on the wing this species occasionally utters short, piercing cries.” 
With regard to the Malayan wedge-tailed hornbill (Anorhinus galeritus ) a 
curious experience is related by Mr. Whitehead, who found a nest of the species in 
Northern Borneo. He shot three of the birds before he became aware that there 
was a nest-hole in the tree, but, on being assured of the fact, he sent one of his 
boys to climb up and let the old female out. When the native went to do this, 
he found two or three birds engaged in feeding her and her young one. Mr. 
Whitehead says that the hole is firmly fastened up with gutta, dirt, and various 
gums, and the same hole is frequently used, judging by the heaps of excrement at 
the foot of the tree. He also considers that the plastering of the hole is necessary 
to protect the helpless birds against the attacks of monkeys, and the huge tree¬ 
climbing monitor lizards, which cause immense destruction among the feathered 
population of the forests. 
solid Billed In marked contrast to the light and cell-filled casques of the 
Hornbill. other members of the family, the beak of the solid-billed hornbill 
{Rhinoplax vigil ) has, as already mentioned, a perfectly solid casque; on which 
account this bird is referred to a separate subfamily. In this species the beak 
has the consistence and appearance of ivory, and is indeed carved by the Chinese in 
the same way. The species in question is an inhabitant of Southern Tenasserim, the 
Malayan Peninsula, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. In addition to its 
solid bill, it is remarkable for having the whole of the throat and back of the neck 
bare. The length of the bird is nearly 5b feet, the tail alone being almost 3 feet 
long. The general colour is brown, the quills black with white tips, and the tail 
brown tipped with white, the tips being preceded by a black band. The two 
central feathers are more than double the length of the next pair, and the outer pair 
are entirely white. The under surface of the body is white, the breast being brown, 
the bill yellow, with the posterior portion red, like the bare throat and neck, while 
the feet and iris are also red. Davison, who found this species in Southern 
Tenasserim, where he procured a single specimen after much trouble in the 
evergreen forests of Bankasori and Malwun, says that it is very shy, which is 
not to be wondered at, since, whenever one appears near a village, everyone who 
can shoot or can get hold of a gun is sure to try and kill it, as the heads are in 
great demand for carving into love-charms, bringing as much as fifty rupees. 
“ The birds,” he writes, “ confine themselves almost exclusively to the evergreen 
forests, where they frequent the very highest trees. Their note is very peculiar, 
and can be heard at the distance of a mile or more. It commences with a series of 
whoops, uttered at intervals of about half a minute for five or ten minutes; then 
the interval between each whoop grows shorter and shorter, till the wlioop whoop 
whoop is repeated very quickly ten or a dozen times, the bird ending up by going 
into a harsh, quacking laugh. Then there is a pause of ten minutes, or a quarter 
of an hour or more, and then it recommences. It chiefly utters this call in the 
