178 On an apparently new Species of Hornbill. 



from Angola iu the collection of Mr. R. B. Sharpe, who kindly 

 placed it in my hands for examination and description ; and 

 I have much pleasure in bestowing his name upon this species, 

 as a mark of esteem, as well as in recognition of the valuable 

 services he has rendered to ornithology. 



In the collection of the British Museum are two specimens 

 of B. sharpii, from the Gaboon and Congo respectively. One 

 I judge to be an adult male ; and it differs from the specimen 

 just described by having the entire bill yellowish white, with 

 only a trace of black on the central portion of the maxilla 

 near the cutting-edge, and tending upwards in the direc- 

 tion of the base, but not reaching the nostril. The tail is 

 like that of the type; but the outer feathers are entirely 

 white, only the central ones and those immediately succeed- 

 ing having any black upon them. This specimen is from the 

 Gaboon. 



The third example, from the Congo, is perhaps a female. 

 It is much smaller than the others; the mandible is only 

 slightly ridged, with a few black spots where the ridges are 

 found in the other two specimens; the upper portion of 

 the maxilla near the base black. The feathers of the tail are 

 coloured like those of the Gaboon bird, save a black spot that 

 is seen upon all, near the base, but not reaching to it. 



Buceros sharpii belongs to a very well-marked group of the 

 great family Bucerotidse, to which the term Bycanistes, Ca- 

 banis, has been applied, and contains, so far as is known, 

 six species, including the present one. Although in their 

 general appearance all the species closely resemble each other, 

 yet each presents sufficient characters to distinguish it easily 

 from its relatives. 



The largest is 



1. B. cristatus, Riippell, from Abyssinia ; distinguished by 

 having the wings entirely black, the tail black, with the ex- 

 ception of the extreme base and an apical band, which are 

 white ; a spotted crest and enormous casque. 



2. B. cylindricus, Temm. West Africa. Resembles the 

 first but is smaller ; crest unspotted ; secondaries pure white 



