X INTEOBTJOTION.
U. Two rectrices next to outermost one white for half
their apical length
c. Bill yellow, tip reddish hrown. Head and neclc leaden grey
d. Bill deep red. Head and neck blackish b r o w n . . . .
e. Bill deep red. Ilead and neck light grey
/ . Bill pale rod at base, yellowish at tip. Outer rectriecs
white for two inches from tips
¡7. Bill greenish white, brown at base. Outer rcctrices
greenish black, apical third white
h. Bill deep red. Head and neck leaden grey; supereffiary
stripe white
i. Bill rufous. Head, neck, and underparts white . . .
j. BiU black, tip red. Tail greenisli black, outermost
rectrices tipped with white
li. Bill bright red. Tail dark olive-brown, edged with rufous.
3.
4,.
5. hem^richii.
6. ;
7. (jriseus.
9. erytliTorlujiiclms.
10. decheni.
11.
12. cam
CLASSIFICATION.
The position o£ the Bucebotid.i! among birds is generally conceded by ornithologists to be
between the Kingishers and the Hoopoes. As long ago as 1838 the late Mr. Blyth» compared
the specics of this family with the Hoopoes, and regarded them as a distinct tribe, to which he
»aye the name AppemUrosh-es. The Hornbills have many peculiar structural characters, the
most conspicuous of which is, of coursc, the formidable bill. This, howeycr, with perhaps one
exception (Hhihoplax tigii.), is formidable in appcarance only, as it is mainly hollow and
permeated with a network of bony ftbrcs. Another peeuliarity 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 bdl. Prof.
Oweut states that the tongue is extremely short, of a triangular form, and smooth, and the
oesophaoars, as in the Toucans, is very wide and of nearly equal diameter as far as the gi..ard.
This last has its coats thick, and is of a more elongated form than those of the Toucans; rts
euticular lining is very tough, and disposed iu longitudinal ridges. There are no ca=ea , and the
intestines are arranged in long and narrow loops, as in the Eaven. The whole length of the
intestines is five feet. At that period Prof. Owen considered the nearest ally of the Hornbdls to
be the Toucans ; but the presence of a gall-bladder, which the Toucans do not possess places
the B u o k b o ™ nearer to the Crows. Although many of the Hornbills are of such large
size, their skeletons are extremely light, and completely permeated by an, 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 TanysipUra, have twelve. Wallace t ,
. M.g. Hist vol. ii. p. 589. t P.OC. Zool Soo. 1833,p. 103. t A«- l« » , - - f
INTKODTJGTION.
on the other hand, places these birds nearest the Kingfishers, because, on aoeount of the structure
of the feet and toes, and also from their habits, the Hombills are I'issirostral birds, though of an
abnormal form. " Their very short legs and united toes, with a broad flat sole, are exactly similar
to those of the Kingfishers. They have powerful wings ; but their heavy bodies oblige them to nsc
much exertion in flight, which is therefore not very rapid, though often extended to considerable
distances." "We look upon Hombills, therefore, as one of the abnormal developments
of Pissirostral birds, of which they are the largest, the least elegant, and the least gifted with
faculties for locomotion and for obtaining food ; and their nearest affinities lie in the direction of
the Kingfishers." Nitzsch, in his ' Pterylographie places the three genera Bîiceros, IJptipa,
and Alcedo in his family Lipoglossíe, agreeing together in the absence of an aftershaft on the
contour feathers, and in the feathered tip of the oil-gland, but differing in the characters of their
plumage and in the distribution of then fcather-tracts. Biiceros and Upupa agree in having ten
rectrices ; Alcedo has twelve. Eytonf makes the Bucbrot idj e consist of three subfamilies. MomoÜ1UB,
Upiipinoe, and Bucerinai. Prof. Iluxleyî, in his paper on the classification of birds, places
the BüCEEOTrn^E in the Desmognathous division of the OarinataD, and arranges them between
Fodargus, Alcedo, and Ttacelo ; while Dr. Murie §, in his able paper on the UPUPlDiE and their
relationships, considers the members of that family to be the nearest allies of tlie Ifornbills. Ho
says, in concluding his remarks, " Lastly, what in exterior appearance can be more opposed to
each other than such a great unwieldy horned bird as the ühinoccros Ifornbill i^Buceros
rhinoceros) and the graceful Hoopoe ? Yet when TocJms is reached, size and outward
peculiarities dwindle till we have a form in which can bo recognized semblanee to certain of the
TTpupidje. There is still a gap ; but the very manifold structui-al agreements and adaptations
thereof to habits &c. arc strong evidences of congruity It suffices to say that economy in
general, ptcrylosis, geographical distribution in part, and anatomy taken all in all, turn the scale
in favour of the Hornbills as the group bearing the closest relation to the Hoopoes and Irrisors."
I t will be seen by the foregoing references that the chief writers on compar'ative anatomy have
nearly agreed in the position which this family should occupy among birds, and that the
Kingfishers on one side and the Hoopoes on the other are apparently its nearest allies. It must
be borne in mind that, although the number of their rectrices are different, yet many of the
habits of the Hornbills and the Kingfishers are very similar; and in the classification of birds
these should always have considerable influence in forming an arrangement. The Hornbills as
they exist at the present day, exhibit to us probably but a remnant of the great family which
once dwelt amid the forests of that mighty eastern continent of which a large portion is now
beneath the waters. So, many gaps exist, not one only, we may presume; and the diversified
forms that would supply the necessary links to complete an unbroken chain of connected species
throughout the family have long since disappeared. Our means, then, for working out this
difficult problem are but scanty ; but probably, amid this ever-shifting, changing world, they will
never be more ample than at the present time.
• Eay Soc., cflited by Scktet, 186?. t Ostcol. Av. (1867) p. 59.
t Ptoc. ZooL Soc. 186?, p. 446. § Hi,. 1873, p. 181.
/