HORNBILLS. 



233 



materials, a thin outer case supported by an interlacing bony net- 

 work filled with air, and so tender is the helmet-like protuberance 

 in some species, that after the death of the bird, pressure of the 

 thumb and finger is often sufficient to crush it. This remarkable 

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



Fig. 123.— The Crested Hornbill {Bh 



ronatiis). 



mandible often irregularly toothed, as if small fragments had been 

 hacked out. The anterior 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 kingfishers and the bee-eaters in his group of 

 Syndactyle birds. These birds have tolerably large wings, and 

 possess considerable powers of flight. The only 



Siib-Faiiiily, 



THE HORNBILLS PROPER (BUCEROTIN.-E), 



have the characters given above. 



