446 MR. R. B. SHARl'E ON A NEW HORNBILL. [May 5, 



with the corresponding hnnes of other Eocene birds, and referred to 

 tlie genus Gastornis, but they are named specifically after their 

 discoverer, Gastornis khiasseni. The lower ends of these tibio-tarsi 

 being more jieriect than in any of the examples of the genus which 

 have been discovered on the continent, a more detailed comparison 

 with other forms of birds is now possible, and confirms to a great 

 extent the opinions which have been expressed by previous writers 

 as to the affinities of these ancient birds. The tibio-tarsus of G. 

 khiasseni is unlike that of any known bird ; that of Dinornis and 

 the living Ratitse, although approaching it in size, are quite unlike 

 it in form. It is among the Anserine birds that one finds tibio- 

 tarsi with the greatest number of characters in common with these 

 fossils; and if the form of the tibio-tarsus is any indication of the 

 affinities of birds, then Gastornis would seem to find its nearest* 

 living allies among the old group of the Palinipciles, and more 

 especially in the Anserine division of tliat grou|). Notwitlistanding 

 this there is evidence which seems to point to Gastornis being one 

 of the Ratitse. 



The paper concludes with a list of all the known British Eocene 

 Birds, and a short description of the geological strata at Croydon 

 from which these fossils were obtained. 



4. Description of a new Species of Hornhill from the Island of 

 Palawan. By 11. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S.j F.Z.S., &c. 



[Eeceived April 14, 1885.] 

 (Plate XXVI.) 



Three specimens of a Ilornbill obtained in Palawan by my friend 

 Mr. Everard P. Lempriere appear to belong to an undescribed species 

 of Anthracoceros. In Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay's list of Philipiiine 

 birds, no species of Hornbill has been recorded from Palawan ; so 

 that it is interesting to find the family represented in the island, 

 and still more so as the species turns out to belong to the Indo- 

 Malayan genus Anthracoceros, thus affording another instance of the 

 Malayan affinities of P.nlawan. 



The present species is easily diagnosed for its completely black 

 wings and entirely white tail, so that the following brief description 

 of it will suffice. 



Anthracoceros lemprieri, sp. n. (Plate XXVI.) 



cJ ad. omnino niger, vice viridescens ; olis niyris ; cauda omnino 

 alba. Long. tot. 26, alee 12, caudce lO'O, tarsi 225. 



Ilab. in insula Philippinensi " Palawan" dicta. 



The bill is yellowish white with the base of tVie lower mandible 

 black ; a bird with a smaller casque I take to be the adult female. 

 The young has an admixture of brown in the plumage and lacks 

 the pointed apical ridge to the casque. 



