BUCEROTID^. 243 



Bill, with the broad casque red above, passing into deep waxen- 

 yellow; upper mandible yellow, red at the tip; lower mandible 

 whitish-yellow, (ivory-white in adults) ; space between the casque 

 and the bill, blackish in front, from whence a bliick stripe runs 

 down the crest of the bill towarda the point, in. the male sex only ; 

 base of both mandibles, and cutting edges, also black ;. posterior 

 termination of the casque black in the male, red in the female ; 

 orbitar skin black. 



Length 4 feet; wing 19 to 20; tail 17; bill in a straight line^ 

 from point to gape, 10 inches ; from point to posterior termination 

 of casque 13^ inches ; casque alone 7^. inches long, 3^ broad at 

 base ; depth of bill at base, including the casque, 4 ; tarsus 2^ ; 

 irides deep brown ; said by Hodgson to be hoary in the young 

 bird, and intense crimson in the adult. 



This large Hornbill is found in the forests of Malabar, from the 

 extreme south up to Goa ; and also in the Himalayas. I have 

 not seen it in any of the other forest-regions, and there is 

 no record of its having been found elsewhere within my particu- 

 lar province ; but it is common in Assam, Burmah, the Malay 

 peninsula, and Sumatra. I have seen it in the forests of Malabar, 

 below the ghats, but rarely. It is generally found on the sides 

 of the hills, and I have seen it up to 5,000 feet on the eastern 

 slope of the Neilgherries. In the Himalayas, near Darjeeling, 

 I found it from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. Hodgson says that it 

 tenants the lower ranges of hills, contiguous to the plains. It 

 is sometimes seen in pairs, occasionally in small flocks ; generally 

 keeps to the thickest jungle, and to lofty trees; but occasionally 

 may be seen seated on a high tree in an open space. Hodgson 

 states that it seems to prefer the open and cultivated spots in 

 the wilds it inhabits, which spots are usually limited to the banks 

 of rivers. This naturalist must have seen it more abundant than 

 I ever have, for he speaks of twenty to thirty birds being com- 

 monly found in the same vicinity ; six or eight on the same 

 tree. I never saw a flock of more than five or six, either in 

 Southern India or the Sikim Himalayas, and that rarely. It 

 is, in general, rather a silent bird, making merely a deep but 

 not very loud croak ; occasionally, however, when a party are 



