182 



DESCRIPTION OF THE BUCEROS 



with sufficient regularity, to admit of description, except in the individual 

 from which these notes are chiefly taken. In this four very distinct ones, 

 may be said to exist on the lower mandible, the interval between them 

 being so uniform, and their shape so similar, as (from appearance alone) 

 to warrant the conclusion, that they are natural productions. In the 

 seventh specimen, however, (which was a young bird supposed to have 

 been hatched last rains,) these serrations are not visible in either mandible. 

 Whether (in the perfect bill,) these tooth-like processes always exist, 

 I will not pretend to determine. If they should be found to do so, it would 

 at least, become a matter of question, for what purpose they are destined. 



The circumstance of the birds being deprived of a greater portion of 

 the hard substance constituting the edges of the mandibles, in early life, 

 never afterwards to be replaced, is a strong evidence that such formations 

 are not necessary in aiding them to secure their food, moreover their 

 presence would not correspond with the supposed natural habits of birds 

 of this class ; and, furthermore, as there are no corresponding depressions 

 in the opposite jaw, and as the birds live very well without them, it is 

 reasonable to conclude, that the existence of serrations on the edges of the 

 bill must be denied, as necessary formations, while to account for their 

 presence, the exceeding brittleness of the substance on which they are 

 situated deserves consideration. 



si i ■ ■ 



.isr The osseous structure beneath the horn, as will be apprehended from 

 the enormous size of the bill, is very light, and cellular throughout. The 

 same structure is also observable in the bones, at the base of the skull. 

 The casket on its interior exhibits nothing but innumerable, and minute 

 processes of bony matter, which intercept each other, so as to form a reti- 

 cular arrangement. The upper mandible is firmly joined to the skull, 

 and admits of no motion whatever. This variety (which is met with in 

 very few birds) may be accounted for in the present species, by the large 



