The ABBAGAMBA, or ABYSSINIAN HORNBILL (_Bucorax Abyssinicus_),
a well-known African species of the above family, is a large,
powerfully-formed bird, with short wings and tail and long legs. Its huge
beak, about a foot in length, is slightly curved, flat at its sides,
and blunt at the tip. The base of the upper mandible is surmounted by a
high protuberance. The regions of the eye and throat are bare, and very
brightly coloured. In the wing the sixth quill is longer than the rest.
The entire plumage, except six yellowish white primary quills, is of a
glossy black, the eye is dark brown, and the beak black, with a red and
yellow spot on its upper mandible. The eye-rings and throat are dark grey,
the latter bordered with bright red. The female is smaller than her mate,
and has only a comparatively small portion of her neck bare. The length of
the male is forty-three inches and a half, and his breadth seventy inches;
the wing measures twenty-one inches and three-quarters, and the tail
thirteen inches and a half.
[Illustration: THE ABBAGAMBA, OR ABYSSINIAN HORNBILL (_Bucorax
Abyssinicus_).]
This remarkable bird is found over a large portion of Africa, and is
common in Abyssinia, where it subsists principally on a large beetle
that abounds in the Teff fields at certain seasons. In some parts of the
continent it is regarded with superstitious veneration, and is known
as the Tier el Naciba, or Bird of Destiny. So strong, indeed, is this
feeling among the natives, that they will not permit an Abbagamba to
be killed near their dwellings, lest they should lose their flocks and
cattle by disease; under any circumstances, however, this species is but
little liable to molestation, as the disgusting stench emitted by its
body renders a near approach to it almost impossible. During the breeding
season the Abyssinian Hornbills live in pairs, but after that period
wander about the fields in parties in search of locusts, grasshoppers,
and beetles. Gourney tells us that they also devour snails, lizards,
frogs, rats, mice, and similar fare. Insects they obtain by hacking
in the ground with their powerful bill, and then, after tossing their
victim in the air, catch it in their extended mandibles as it descends.
According to Gourney they attack snakes with great intrepidity, employing
their wing as a shield against the dangerous foe, and, should he prove
formidable, calling in the assistance of their companions, in order more
speedily to dispatch him. When excited, these strange birds present a most
extraordinary appearance, as they stalk along with throat inflated and
wings trailing, the tail meanwhile being constantly opened and closed,
after the manner of a Turkey-cock. Their step, which resembles that of
a Raven, is unsteady, and their movements in the air, contrary to the
usually received idea, both light and graceful; they, however, rarely
fly to any distance, but, if alarmed, merely rise and take refuge in a
neighbouring tree. Should any suspicious sound attract the attention of a
party of these birds, they stand erect and listen attentively, with bill
wide open, and, at the first note uttered by one of their number, at once
hurry to a place of safety, usually selecting such spots as command a
free view of the surrounding country. The cry of the Abbagamba is deep,
harsh, and so resonant that, according to Gourney, it can be heard at the
distance of more than a mile. While engaged in attracting the attention of
his mate, the male often continues his call, almost without intermission,
for a quarter of an hour at a time, and is answered by her repeatedly in
a somewhat higher tone. The nest, as we ourselves ascertained, is made in
large hollow trees, with the entrance on the east side. The eggs, we learn
from Heuglin, are small and round, with a rough white shell. A nestling
found by us at first exhibited no trace of the horny excrescence on its
bill, and, on being shut up in a yard with a variety of other live stock,
soon became tame, and lived on excellent terms with its companions.
[Illustration]
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS (_Gallinæ_).
We have now arrived at an important division of the feathered tribes,
all the members of which are more or less terrestrial. They generally
procure their food from the surface of the ground, upon which they run
or walk with facility, and many of them scratch up the earth in search
of such nutritive materials as serve for their subsistence. They have,
therefore, in conformity with such a mode of life, a short or moderately
long beak, which is usually vaulted above. Their body is heavy, and their
wings generally short. They all live principally upon grain, and are
furnished with a strong muscular gizzard. To this order belong our game
birds, and most of our poultry. Their flesh is edible, and supplies us
with wholesome and nutritious food, and from the facility with which they
are procurable, and the ease with which some are domesticated, are of the
utmost importance to mankind.
The members of this division were separated by Cuvier into two
sections--the COLUMBÆ, or Pigeons, and the GALLINÆ, properly so called.
More recently, however, these sections have been considered as forming two
distinct orders, distinguished by the names of the PIGEONS (_Gyratores_)
and the SCRAPERS (_Rasores_), or TRUE GALLINACEOUS BIRDS.