IIIU.S. 



HORXmi.LS. 



lMta*etfck* protatwraDes ; edge* of the mandible* smooth or notehad ; 

 tat anmV: interior of the bill, especially the upper mandible and 

 .,, TTT orlluUr; nostril* basal, on the surface of the beak, in 



ferrW. naU, somewhat round, open, pierced in the corneous sub- 

 of UM bill, covered at UM base by a membrane. Feet short, 

 sol* of UM foot larv*. Wings moderate; the first 

 I ; the fourth or fifth UM longest. [BiRM.] 



are found iu the Old World, Africa, India 

 r Guinea. 



DusilliM. in his description of his Com* /adiViu (Buearot //yrfrocoroj; 

 of Lmasras). a natir* of the Molucca* and Banda, says, " More Corri 

 -~*~*t . craditur. indole a nostris corris differt, quod nou cadarere, 

 nucibus myristiois avide re*stur; usque insigne 

 Cam eornm quoque delicate eat, et assa saporem a 

 nin habet (It walks like the crow of our countries, 



The body black, of a dirty white below and posteriorly ; tail about 

 12 inched, the feathen white at the bate and tip, black in the middle ; 

 feet and claws obscure gray. 



three quill* graduated; t 



The speci** of Bmet 



BBd Me tsWrfa. and New 



i in disposition from our crow*, inasmuch ai it feeds 

 i, but most Mpecially on nutmegs, and that greedily, 

 a gnat deal of damage to them. Their flesh also is delicate, 

 and when roasted has an aromatic flavour from their food)." Of the 

 Corrus rostro oornuto' (B. Rk'f'Otmt of Linneus) he says that 

 it lires on the oaroasse* and intentiues of animoli, and that it waits 

 poo the banter* who kill wild cattle, boars, and (tags, to gorge 

 itself with the entrails of those animal*. Willughby, in his account 

 of Bootiu* his Indian Haven,' says, " It walks after the manner of 

 our Karen, but differs from it in nature and disposition, in that it 

 feeds not upon carrion or dead carcasses, but chiefly upon nutmegs, 

 ..f which it i* very greedy, making great destruction of that fruit, to 

 the BO small detriment of the owners. Its flesh is very delicate, and 

 being meslml hath a plain aromatioal relish, contracted from its food." 

 Of 'The Homed Indian Karen, or Topau, called the Khinocerot 

 Bird.' he says, " This homed bir.l, as it casts a strong smell, so it hath 

 fool look, much exceeding the European Karen in bigness. .... 

 It lives upon carrion and garbage, that is, the carcasses and entrails 

 of animals." Both these psssigr* are taken from liontius, as the 

 will perceire. Curier considers them as omnivorous " Ils 

 toute sorte de nourritnre;" and he states that they eat 

 r fruits, hoot mice, small birds, and reptiles, and do not even 

 carcasses. The late Major-Oeneral Thomus Hardwicke, who 

 ntributed so largely to our acquaintance with Indian animals, in 

 resting of B. galealnt (' Linn. Trans.,' vol. sir.), gives the following 

 description of the habits of the Hornbilli : " The progressive motion 

 of the birds of this genus, although their feet are formed for walking, 

 u always by jumping or hopping. I have kept several species alive, 

 and they all moved in the same manner. In a state of nature these 

 birds, in this part of India (Malacca), lire on wild fruits. In confine- 

 ment they feed freely on plantains and on boiled rice. At night they 

 perch with great security, though the largeness of the foot seems 

 better salted to rest on the ground." M. Lesson sums up the habits 

 of UM HornbOls thus : Those of Africa lire on carrion ; those of the 

 East Indies seek for fruits, especially nutmegs, and their flesh acquires 

 from them a delicious flavour. Their flight is performed by repeated 

 strokes of the wings, and the air which they displace, joined to the 

 clattering of their mandibles, occasions a great and very disquieting 

 noise in the forests, when the cause is unknown. This noise, capable 

 of (expiring terror, does not ill resemble those flaws of rough and 

 sudden winds ("grains de rent brusques et subits") which arise so 

 unexpectedly between the tropics, and blow so violently. The Euro- 

 pean* established at the Moluccas think that the furrows which are 

 seen on the bill of the Hornbill* are the result of age, and that each 

 furrow signifies a year; whence the name of Jerarrogel, which they 

 give to these birds. Mr. Swainson remarks that the Hornbills are 

 gisyiliim Dots* birds, generally of a very large size, and are 

 intllulij to the Old Work! ; that they are omnivorous, feeding both 

 oa mho* I* and vegetable ; that some however seem only to partake 

 of the latter food ; while others, upon the authority of Le Vaillant, 

 feed upon carrion. The B. ravo/iu dissected by Professor Owen 

 was observed to be more attached to animal than to vegetable food, 

 and would quit any other substance if dead mouse were offered to 

 it This it would swallow entire, after squeezing it twtft or thrice 

 with the bill ; and no castings were noticed. Professor Owen however 

 add* that Petirer has borne testimony to its regurgitating habits. 



Before we proceed to give examples of the family as it here stands, 

 that is, as ~~^is; of the true Hornbills alone, we may remark that 

 if it shoald be clearly made out that some species lire entirely on 

 'able food, while others lire on carrion, as has been asserted, 

 i may be good grounds for elevating such species to the rank of 

 f >r uch a totel difference of food must in all probability be 

 . ed l.y a n.rrmp .nding difference of internal structure and 

 "f gNMtat habits. M. Temminck may be considered ss the author 

 who ha* most successfully dissipated the obscurity in which the 

 > were inrolred: mil to his elaborate and beautiful works we 

 UM reader. We shall select as examples the following two 



A Minium, Rhinoceros Hornbill. This species is to be found in 

 oat oltMftkNM. and though there may be some variety from age and 

 trataMteoen, UM bin will be generally found to be about 10 inches 

 Inner and nf a yellwih-white, the upper mandible red at the base, 

 the lowr black. The born, or casque, varied with black and white. 



Rhinoccro* lloinbill (Ructrot ltlm,< , 



It is a native of India and the Indian Islands (Suuda, for instancoV 

 B. cavatv*. Throat, ear-coverts, circle round Ue eye, and a narrow- 

 band at the occipital edge of the protuberance of the beak, black ; 

 neck dirty straw-colour, the feathers of the back of the neck elongated ; 

 body and wings black, greater coverts and quill-feathers tipped with 

 white ; thighs, upper and under tail-coverts, white ; as is the tail also, 

 with the exception of s broad black band about three inches from the 

 tip ; beak yellowish, inclining to scarlet at the tip. under mandible 

 black at the base ; tarsi black. (Gould.) 



7?/rrro rarntil*. 



The food of the fluceroi cavattu, like that of other Hornbills, con 

 sists of fruiu, berries, flesh, and even carrion ; in short, it may bo 

 considered as strictly omnivorous. (Oould.) 



