HORNBILLS. 169 



the outmost and inmost toes are both united to 

 the central one at the base ; the claws are short 

 and blunt. 



The Hornbills are birds of large size ; few are 

 smaller than . a Crow, and some are much larger 

 than a Raven ; they are generally clad in sombre 

 plumage, frequently relieved, however, with white 

 in large masses ; the beak and naked skin of the 

 face often display bright colours during life. 

 Their distribution is limited to Africa, India, and 

 the great adjacent islands. 



The singular structure of these birds, and the 

 paucity of our information concerning their habits 

 in a state of nature, have caused much diversity 

 of opinion as to their true position and affinities. 

 It is now, however, pretty well agreed that their 

 nearest relations are to the Crows on the one 

 hand, and to the Toucans on the other, and that 

 they thus form a very interesting link of con- 

 nexion between the Passerine or perching and 

 the Scansorial or climbing birds. Professor Owen, 

 by his dissection of a young specimen of Buceros 

 cavatus (SHAW) that died at the Gardens of the 

 Zoological Society, discovered some curious par- 

 ticulars in its anatomy, which tended to indicate 

 the true place of the Family, as just stated. 



GENUS BUCEROS. (LiNN.) 



The technical characters of this genus have al- 

 ready been sufficiently indicated in those of the 

 Family ; as the two solitary species which have 

 been separated from all the others, to form dis- 

 tinct genera, differ only in some slight peculiari- 

 ties in the structure of the feet. 



