V ItllH H tl 



■ »» V ■ * 



■^ ■— — ■— 





xx INTEODUCTION. 



#'. Two rectrices next to outermost one white for half 

 their apical length 



c. Bill yellow, tip reddish hrown. Head and neck leaden grey 



d. Bill deep red. Head and neck blackish brown .... 



e. Bill deep red. Head and neck light grey 



/. Bill pale red at base, yellowish at tip. Outer rectrices 



white for two inches from tips 



g. Bill greenish white, brown at base. Outer rectrices 



greenish black, apical third white 



h. Bill deep red. Head and neck leaden grey ; superciliary 



stripe white 



i. Bill rufous. Head, neck, and underparts white . . . 

 j. Bill black, tip red. Tail greenish black, outermost 



rectrices tipped with white 



k. Bill bright red. Tail dark olive-brown, edged with rufous . 



3. semifasciatus. 



4. flavirostris. 



5. Tiemprichii. 



6. monteiri. 



8. gingalensis. 



9. erytJirorJiynchus. 



10. declceni. 



11. hartlaubi. 



12. camurus. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



The position of the Bucerotidje among birds is generally conceded by ornithologists to be 

 between the Kingfishers and the Hoopoes. As long ago as 1838 the late Mr. Blyth * compared 

 the species of this family with the Hoopoes, and regarded them as a distinct tribe, to which he 

 gave the name Ajppendirostres. The Hornbills have many peculiar structural characters, the 

 most conspicuous of which is, of course, the formidable bill. This, however, with perhaps one 

 exception (Rhinoplax vigil), is formidable in appearance only, as it is mainly hollow and 

 permeated with a network of bony fibres. Another peculiarity is the possession of long and 

 strong eyelashes. These are unusual among birds ; and they may be given to protect the eyes 

 from falling particles of wood or fruit dislodged by the creature when using its bill. Prof. 

 Owent states that the tongue is extremely short, of a triangular form, and smooth, and the 

 oesophagus, as in the Toucans, is very wide and of nearly equal diameter as far as the gizzard. 

 This last has its coats thick, and is of a more elongated form than those of the Toucans ; its 

 cuticular lining is very tough, and disposed in longitudinal ridges. There are no caeca ; and the 

 intestines are arranged in long and narrow loops, as in the Haven. The whole length of the 

 intestines is Rve feet. At that period Prof. Owen considered the nearest ally of the Hornbills to 

 be the Toucans ; but the presence of a gall-bladder, which the Toucans do not possess, places 

 the Btjcerotid^ nearer to the Crows. Although many of the Hornbills are of such large 

 size, their skeletons are extremely light, and completely permeated by air, the very phalanges of 

 the toes being hollow to their extremities. Like the Hoopoes, the Hornbills possess but ten 

 tail-feathers ; the Kingfishers, excepting those of the genus Tanysiptera, have twelve. Wallace %, 

 * Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 589. f Proc. Zool. Soc. 1833, p. 102. % Ann. Nat. Hist. 1856, xviii. p. 193. 



