HORNBILLS. 
61 
portion of the beak is solid, and the entire skull consequently very heavy, whereas 
in the other species it is remarkable for its lightness. The palate is of the bridged 
type, and the upper part of the breast-bone has the same perforation as in the 
hoopoes and bee-eaters. The spinal feather-tract is not defined on the neck, and 
the tendons of the foot are split into branches, of which one leads to the first toe 
and another to the second, while the third and fourth toes are served by one and 
the same tendon. The tail-feathers, as in most of the Picarian birds, are ten in 
number. The egg is white, and the young are hatched in a naked and helpless 
condition. Confined to the Old World, the liornbills are found in Africa and the 
Indian region, extending through the Malay countries to Celebes, and thence to 
HEAD OF WEST AFRICAN TRUMPETER-HORNBILL. 
(From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871.) 
New Guinea and the western islands of the Solomon group. They are divisible into 
three subfamilies, the ground-hornbills ( BiLCOTCicinca), true liornbills ( Bucevotinct), 
and solid-casqued liornbills ( Rhinoplacince ). 
Ground- These curious and vulture-like liornbills, constituting the first 
Hornbiiis. subfamily, are peculiar to Africa, and have a hollow casque, while 
the back of the neck and middle of the back are both feathered, and the 
metatarsus is long, even to the extent of twice the length of the middle toe and 
claw. The group is represented only by two species, namely, the Abyssinian 
hornbill (Bucorax abyssinicus ) from Western and North-Eastern Africa, and the 
South African hornbill ( B. cobfev) from South Africa, extending on the west to 
Angola, and on the east to the Pangani River and even as fai as the Suk 
country in Equatoria. These two species differ in the form of the casque, that of 
the Abyssinian bird being very evidently open in front, while the South Afiican 
species has the casque closed, or nearly so. The Abyssinian foim measures 
upwards of 3i> feet in length, with a wing of 21 inches, and has the entne plumage 
black, excepting the primary quills, which are white. The bill and casque are 
