22 
Mr. G. L. Bates— Field-Notes on the 
their nests and eggs here. Of no bird around Bitye is it so 
easy to find the nests (excepting, of course, those of the 
common Weavers) as of the Nsesal. These nests are usually 
set in the forks of thick bushes on waste ground or in the 
borders of gardens. They are merely thick flat pads of 
fibrous material of various kinds, piled up with little skill, 
but slightly hollowed out in the middle. A common material 
is the grey beard-like Usnea from the limbs of old trees. 
In the nest, among the eggs or the nestlings, are laid trashy 
fragments of various kinds, generally bits of leaves, which are 
sometimes still fresh and green ; but also pieces of bark, and 
once I found a grain of corn. A nest that has long been in 
use has more of this trash than a new one. 
The number of eggs laid is generally two, never more 
than three. They vary in size from 20-23 mm. long by 
16-17*5 mm. broad. 
[The ten eggs examined are of a wide oval shape and 
more or less pointed towards the smaller end. They are 
pure white with a rather rough chalky surface entirely 
devoid of gloss.—O.-G.] 
804. Ceratogymna atrata. [Ongung.] 
No. 2545. $. Akok (between Efulen and Kribi). June 
20, 1907. Stomach full of fruits of the Rattan Palm. 
No. 2606. £. Akok, July 9, 1907. Crop and stomach 
containing forest fruits. 
No. 2618. £ . Akok, July 11, 1907. Testes very large. 
No. 2635. $. Akok, July 16, 1907. Testes large. 
No. 2659. ? . Akok, July 24, 1907. Small ova in the 
ovary. Moulting. 
These big black Hornbills are birds of the forest, and 
hence more often seen and heard in the dense forest near 
the coast than in the Ja district. Their clamorous calls (or 
squawks) and the rushing of their wings are familiar forest- 
sounds, as are the similar noises of the Miam (Bycanistes 
albotibialis), which have been already described Ibis/ 1905, 
p. 90). Big and ugly though the birds are, they are very 
amorous, and the harsh clamour that they make seems to be 
the mating-call of the male. I have known a male “ Ongung 
