238 Journal of the F.M.S. Museums. {[Vot. XI, 
86. Rhinoplax vigil (Forst.). 
2, 2. Serapai, Korinchi, 800 M. 
Iris reddish brown, orbitals, gular skin and naked neck 
dark reddish brown, bill basal part dark red (dark brownish 
crimson), apical part dark ivory yellow, casque dark red, 
with flat apical part dark ivory yellow. 
In two of the above specimens one median tail feather 
is fully developed and much abraded on its terminal half, 
while the other has only three-quarters of its full length. 
Wings, ¢ 520, 515; 9 440 mm. 
The female, which is much smaller and has a smaller 
casque than the male, had a developed ovary (29th July). 
The casque of this hornbill is not only used for magical 
and medicinal purposes, but also for the manufacture of 
buttons, much in value with the Chinese. 
Rhinoplax is a very wily bird and extremely difficult 
to approach. Only when feeding on the fruits of a certain 
wild Ficus, of which they are very fond, do they loose their 
natural cautiousness. If one takes up a position under one 
of these trees, it is not difficult to shoot the birds, but they 
can only be brought down with a bullet or a heavy charge 
of buckshot, as they are extremely tough and feed only in 
high trees. 
They never come down to a lower level as Anorrhinus 
galeritus usually and Buceros rhinoceros sometimes do. 
When they feed on certain fruits in the forest their 
flesh acquires a nauseous taste. When I had pitched my 
camp at Sérapai, we were short of food and therefore I 
partook of some of the meat from the Rhinoplax I had 
killed. It was, however, not fit for regular comsumption 
and, curiously enough, after having eaten it, I smelt as 
badly as the birds. 
Besides the usual noise they make when feeding and 
quarreling in the crowns of big trees, a kind of uproarous 
braying and bellowing—they have a call which sounds 
most uncanny if heard in a lonely forest. It begins with: 
* hook-hook-hook-hook-hook,” starting in very slow 
measure and progressing with always shorter intervals, to 
wind up with a “ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha” sounding like the 
infernal laugh of some demon. 
87. Berenicornis comatus (Raffles). 
@. Suban Ajam, Redjang, Bencoolen, 1200 M. 
Iris light pinkish brown, orbitals and gular skin bluish 
slate, bill dirty blackish with a bone-coloured narrow ridge 
on the median part of the culmen, feet dirty blackish, claws 
black. 
Measurements in the flesh—g¢ Total length 963, tail 
425, w. 350, bill from gape 143, tarsus 60 mm. 
One of the rarer hornbills. 
