188 
BEAIJTirUL EIEDS. 
a fine deep yellow on tlie frontal or tliickest part ; 
tlie orbits are entirely naked, and, with tlie compact 
velvet-like feathers of the crown, are of a glossy 
crimson ; the ears are bordered above by a pure wliite 
stripe ; the whole of the secondary and part of the 
j)rimary quills are of the richest carmine glossed with 
lilac, more or less margined and tipped with the 
blackish violet which spreads over all the rest of the 
plumage ; this violet gloss, however, becomes very 
dark green on the under parts, and is particularly 
rich on the tail. The legs are strong and black. 
The base of the upper mandible is very much dilated, 
and spreads, like a casque or helmet, over the fore 
part of the head as far as the crown, where its 
thickened sides form a semicircle. The gape is very 
wide, and extends beneath the eyes. I^ostrils, oval, 
naked, pierced through the substance of the bill, and 
nearer to the tip than to the eyes. The total length 
of the bird is about twenty inches. 
In the family Biiceridce, or Hornbills, there is only 
one genus, that of JBuceros. These birds are charac- 
terized by a bill of enormous size, the upper mandible 
* Birds of Western Africa. 
