Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park.
CONCAVE-CASQUED HORNBILL, INDIA.
The noise made by hornbills on the wing is said to resemble that of a steam-engine.
That the Hoopoes, unlike as they may be in general appearance, are nevertheless intimately related to the Hornbills there can be no doubt. Graceful in contour and pleasing in coloration, it is a pity that the species which so frequently visits Britain, and has on more than one occasion nested there, should be so ruthlessly shot down immediately its presence is discovered. Save the wings and tail, the body is of a light cinnamon colour, whilst the head is surmounted by a magnificent crest of black-and-white-tipped feathers, which can be raised or depressed at the pleasure of the bird: the excepted portions of the plumage—the wings and tail—are buff, varied with bands of black and white. Thus it may be truthfully said to be a conspicuously coloured bird; yet this same livery seems also to come under the head of protective coloration, for we are assured that, when danger threatens, the bird throws itself flat upon the ground, spreads out its wings, and at once becomes transformed into what rather resembles a heap of rags than a bird. Escape by flight, however, instead of subterfuge, seems also at times to be resorted to, since, when pursued by a falcon, it will mount rapidly to a great height, and not seldom effect its escape.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green.
GROUND-HORNBILL.
The legs of the ground-hornbill are much longer than those of its allies.
The domestic habits of the hoopoe are, however, by no means so charming as one would expect to find in so beautiful a bird. "All observers agree," writes Professor Newton, "in stating that it delights to find its food among filth of the most abominable description, and this especially in its winter quarters. But where it breeds, its nest—usually in the hole of a tree or of a wall—is not only partly composed of the foulest materials, but its condition becomes worse as incubation proceeds, for the hen scarcely ever leaves her eggs, being assiduously fed by the cock as she sits (a feature strongly recalling the custom of the hornbills), and when the young are hatched their fæces are not removed by their parents, as is the case with most birds, but are discharged in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest, the unsanitary condition of which can readily be imagined. Worms, grubs, and insects generally, form the hoopoes' food, and upon it they get so fat in autumn that they are esteemed a delicate morsel in some of the countries of Southern Europe, and especially by the Christian population of Constantinople."
