xxiT IKTKOETJOTIOK.
have the culmcn compressed and elevated into a low crest; others have merely a median ridge
along the maxiUa. It contains the smallest species of the family; and thoy aro those which,
according to the views of Dr. Muxic, incline towards the XJptjriDiE.
(lEOGKAPEICAL DISTEIEUTIOK.
The members of tlie family BncorotidiB are fonnd in but three of the zoogcographieal
divisions of the globe, via. the Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian regions. Of these the last
possesses but few representatives, confined to its Anstro-Malayan division; for the Bnccrotidiie
are preeminently an Ai-ctogean family, and have bnt few offshoots, and these are cliieay found
among the Notogean islands lying nearest to those composing the Indo-Malayan division of
the Oriental ILeglon.
Commencing with that part of the earth's surface in which these birds aro fonnd that
lies furthest to the westward, wc enter Africa, in the Ethiopian Begion, and observe that the
members of the family aro natives of all the countries lying south of the Great Desert of the
Sahara, from the west to the eastern coasts and down to the Cape colony. Many species have
great ranges, some reaching quite across the continent, as they are met with on both coasts;
while others of less extended dispersion still overrun several districts in whioh other very
distinct spceics have their habitat. This, indeed, is the ease with members of the family m
all the diiieront zoogeegraphical divisions in whioh they aro found; and it thus becomes
extremely difficult, if not indeed well nigh impossible, to accurately designate the proper distribution
of many of the spooies. In Africa, the countries lying on the west coast contam the
largest number of the species found in the Ethiopian Ilegion, viz. twenty out of twenty-seven,
several of whioh, however, extend their range q.uito across tho continent. Of the rcmainmg
seven, four only (so far as oui- knowledge of tliem enables ns to decide) arc confined to the
countries on the cast coast, two have their range unknown or, at least, undetermined, and one
is generally distributed all over tho continent. Beginning in the north-west, in Senegambia, at
tho southern mai-gin of the Sahai-a, wc find that this district contains four spceies-viz. 0. ulata,
A ALBOomsTiTL-s, L. jiASOTTis, and T. SEMIIASCIATUS. Thc fli'st two aud the last extend their
range to the Gaboon; but how far into tlic interior, is unloiown. The L. NiSlITL-s is a common
A f r L n species with a very extensive distribution, being met with in various portions of thc
continent, such as Abyssinia on the east coast, and Sennaar, as well as the region of the Limpopo
river to Damaraland, en the south. It would appeal- to be an inhabitant of neai-ly all Africa
south of the desert. Proceeding southward along the west shore, we find in Eantee, Ashantec,
and the Gold Coast, seven well-marked species not before mentioned.^viz. T. haiiiI-AL-bi,
A. lErcoiopims, B. CYiniDEiCDS, S. a t e a tos , B. AinoTlBiALls, T. cahueus, and P. hsttilatoii.
Of these T. EABTiArBi is only known from the Gold Coast. A. lEL-coionnns seems to be
INTKODITCTION.
confined to Eantce. B. ctmxdmcus is found in both Eantee and Ashantec. S. ate.itus
extends its range to Eernando Po. B. albotibialis was procured at the Gaboon, while
T. OAMuars is met with from the Gaboon to the Congo. Tlie next district on tlic west coast
that contains a species different from those already given is Angola, whioh has B. SUBQUABEATUS,
P. snAEMi, T. lAsciATL-s, and T. mbiaxolbijciis. Of these the seeond and third aro apparently
restricted to this district, or at all events they are very local in their range; but the last
has a very wide distribution, being met with to tho southward in Ovampo ami Damaraland,
and also across the east coast in thc valley of the Shiró of the Zambesi region up to B° south
of the equator, and perhaps still further north. Damaraland possesses throe species not yet
given, viz. T. BEïTnEOailYKOBCS, T. TIAVIEOSTEIS, and Ï . JIONTEIEI. Two of these have a very
extended range, T. EEYTnEOEllYHonus having been proom-ed, according to Schlegel, in Senegal
and Sennaar. It has also been obtained at Ondonga on the Okovango river, and at Lake
Ngami. Kirk met with it in the Zambesi region on the eastern coast; and Sundevall gives
it as an inhabitant of Caffraria. T. bbjIVIEOSTEIS is found generally from Damaraland to
the Transvaal, and as tar north as Abyssinia. T. MOHTEIEI, however, is restrieted to Benguela
and Damaraland. Passing now to the east coast in thc enumeration of species still to be
mentioned, we come to the district of the Zambesi and find two fine spceies, B. bi-ccinatoe and
B. CRISTATUS. The first named is not uncommon, according to Dr. Kirk, in thc mountains
and plains through which thc Zambesi flows ; hut the extent of its range is not satisfactorily
ascertained as yet, while B. ceistattjs has been met with in the valley of the Shh?6 river, was
procured by Capt. Speke and Grant in Uganda, and is also a native of Abyssinia, thus
appearing to be distributed thronghout thc length of the east coast from thc Zambesi nortliward ;
but, like its relative, its range towards the interior is unknown. Two species only of those
restricted to the eastern part of the African continent remain to be notiocd—T. DECKENI and
T. BEMpRlcnil. Thc latter is not found out of Abyssinia; and tho exact locality of thc former
is not given by its describer. B. SUBCYBINDEICUS, whose habitat was unknown to its describer,
has been procured in Central Africa by Dr. Emin Bey, at a place called Gor Aju *. B. abyssinices
is found in Abyssinia and Sennaar. B. PYEEHOPS is as yet only known from the Gaboon ; and
B. capee is an inhabitant of Angola, Damaraland, and Caffraria. One spccies remains, regarding
whose range we have no knowledge, viz. P. caseaeines, described by the late G. IÍ-. Gray from
a head found in thc British Museum without any locality attached.
Passing from the Ethiopian Eegion to the eastward, we come to our second zoogeegraphical
division, viz. thc Oriental Begion. This is divided into four subrogions {which are quite sufficient
for the purpose of this review)—Indian, Ceyloncse, Indo-Chinese, and Indo-Malayan. Thc
Himalayas are separated into north-west and south-east portions, the dividing line being in
the neighbourhood of Kitmandu. In the first two of these subregions, tho Hombills are
scattered throughout the whole of their extent, from the Himalayas in the north to and including
Ceylon in the south. In the Indo-Chinese subrcgion they are met with in thc south-eastern
* Pelzeln, Verb. k.-k. zool.-bot. GcseU. Wicn, 1881, p. 153.