178 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BUCEROS 



heavy scales, and of strictly gressorial or syndactyle character; the nails, 

 arched, compressed, obtuse. 



The dimensions will be given in detail in the sequel. The colours are 

 as follows : 



The casque and upper mandible of the bill, deep waxen yellow, merging^ 

 more or less, into rich red, on the top of the casque, and towards the tip of 

 the upper mandible ; the tip itself, and the lower mandible, ivory white ; base 

 of both mandibles, anterior and posterior surface of the casque, a line along 

 the ridge of the bill, its cutting edges, and the whole inner surface of the 

 bill, black; iris, intense crimson ; legs, deep obscure green; nails, black- 

 ish ; naked skin round the eye, full black; body and wings, subterminal 

 bar on the tail, chin, and junction of the head and neck, black — the body 

 above and wings, feebly glossed with green — the rest, unglossed ; neck, 

 yellow-tinged white ; tail, pure white, with a broad black bar crossing it 

 entirely at the distance of three inches from the lower extremity : all but 

 the two first quill-feathers of the wings, broadly whitened at either extre- 

 mity; tips of the long coverts, also white, forming altogether two conspi- 

 cuous white bars on the wiogs : vent, rump, thighs, legs, and upper and 

 under tail coverts, dirty white. The unctuous secretion from the rump is 

 of a yellow colour ; and, either with this, or with a local secretion of the 

 same kind, several of the prime quills are dyed on the white part of them, 

 going to form the upper bar of the M^ngs. Why this spot should be thus 

 dyed, and no other part of the plumage, I cannot imagine ; but note the 

 fact, because all my specimens agree in respect to it. 



The whole plumage of the head, neck, inferior surface of the body 

 and of the thighs, is lax, discomposed, and more or less setaceous; that of 

 the hind head being also somewhat elongated, forms a slight drooping 

 crest. The crest and the neck feathers, the bird erects partially when 



