BUCEROTID^. 299 



enormous as to appear almost a deformity ; whilst 

 iu many species tlie disproportion of tliis part to the 

 rest of the body is increased by the presence of a 

 singular helmet-like swelling at the base. The bill, 

 with this appendage, looks like a ponderous and un- 

 wieldy burden for the slender neck of tlie bird ; but 

 the whole structure is composed of very light mate- 

 rials, a thin outer case supported by an interlacing 

 bony network filled with air, and so tender is the 

 helmet-like protuberance in some species, that after 

 the deatk of the bird, pressure with the thumb and 

 linger is often sufficient to crush it. This remarkable 

 beak is long, curved, and pointed, with the margins 

 of the upper mandible often irregularly toothed, as 

 if small fragments had been hacked out. The ante- 

 rior toes of the stout powerful feet are more or less 

 united together, the outer one, especially, being- 

 attached to its neighbour to such an extent as to 

 lead Cuvier to place the Hornbills with the King- 

 fishers and Bee-eaters in his group of Syndactyle 

 birds. These birds have tolerably large wings, and 

 possess considerable powers of flight. 



The only sub -family, — 



BucEROTix.E, The Hornbills loroper, 



have the characters given above. 



These birds are inhabitants of the warmer parts 

 of the Old World, most of the species being found 

 in the Eastern islands and in Africa. They are gene- 

 rally of large size. In a state of nature their food 

 consists principally of fruits, but they are said by 

 some T\Titers to feast upon carrion ; and specimens 

 in confinement have been seen to capture rats and 

 mice, which they swallow whole, after crushing them 

 a little with their enormous mandibles. They pro- 

 bably feed on almost anything that comes in their 

 way. Lesson thinks that the eastern species are 

 very fond of nutmegs, from which their flesh derives 

 a delicious flavom\ They usually live in flocks in 



