THE HORN BILLS 1825 



woodpeckers, and feeding on cockroaches, which they take from the crevices of 

 rough-barked trees. They are generally seen in flocks, probably consisting of fam- 

 ily parties, and they have a loud and harsh cry, which has caused the name of 

 kachela or chatterer, to be given to them by the Dutch colonists. 



THE HORNBILLS 

 Family BuCEROTIDsE 



The hornbills, which form a suborder as well as a family by themselves, derive 

 their name from the great development of the bill, which is mostly hollow, and fur- 

 nished with a casque of greater or less prominence, although the latter appendage 

 is sometimes represented merely by a straight and compressed keel. Moreover, in 

 the case of the solid-casqued hornbill (Rhinoplax], the whole of this portion of the 

 beak is solid, and the entire skull consequently very heavy, whereas in the other 



HEAD OF WEST-AFRICAN TRUMPETER HORNBII,!,. 

 (From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871.) 



species it is remarkable for its lightness. The palate is of the bridged type, and the 

 upper part of the breastbone has the same perforation as in the hoopoes and bee- 

 eaters. The spinal feather tract is not defined on the neck, and the tendons of the 

 foot are split into branches, of which one leads to the first toe and another to 

 the second, while the third and fourth toes are served by one and the same tendon. 

 The tail feathers, as in most of the Picarian birds, are ten in number. The egg is 

 white, and the young are hatched in a naked and helpless condition. Confined to 

 the Old World, the hornbills are found in Africa and the Indian region, extending 

 through the Malay countries to Celebes, and thence to New Guinea and the western 

 "5 



