RHINOPIAX '.".GIL
^rrliHINOPLAX
VIGIL.
HELMETED HOKNBILL
Buceros vigil, J. R. Forster; Zoolog. Indioa (1781) p. 40.
Helmeted Hornbill, Lath. Crcn. Syn. (1781) p. 3i3. sp. 2.
Buceros scutatus, Bodd. Tab. PI. Enlum. d'AubOEt. (1783) sp. 933, p. 55; G. R, Gray, Gen. Birds (18-16) vol. ii.
p. 399. sp. 17; Giebel, TKcsaui'. Ornith. (1872) p. 503.
Calao a casquerond, Buff. PL Enlum. (1783) no. 933 (liead).
Buceros galeatus, Gmcl. ed. Linu. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 360; Lath. Ind. Oriiitli. (1790) vol. i. p. 142; Shaw,
Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 24; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 593; Diunont, Diet. Se.
Nat. (1817) p. 204; Vieill. Eae. Meth. (1823) p. 301; Teram. PI. Col. (1824.) vol. ii. sp. 7 (text); Ersch u.
Gruber, Enc. (1824) p. 284; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 4; Less, Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 25G. sp. 18;
Begbie, Malay Penin. (1834) p. 513; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soc. (18-19) p. 45. sp, 192; Schleg. Mus.
Pays-Bas (1862) p. l .sp, 1,
Rhinoplax scutatus. Glog, Ilaud-und llilfsb. (18-1.2) p, 335; Horsf. & Moore, Cat, B, Mus. E.-Ind, Co. (1856-8)
vol. ii, p. 581. no. 866; Moore, Proc, Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 446,
Bucerolurus galeatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp, 1; id. Coasp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Buce)-os {Rhinoplax) scutatus, G. E. Gray, IIand-1. Birds (1870) part ii. p. 130. sp. 7908.
IIAB. Malayan peninsula and arebipelago (BLYTU) ; Borneo, Sumatra (ScnLEGEt).
P o r s t e r , in his ' Zoologi a Indica' (1781), gave the name of vigil to this bird, founded upoji
t h e hill figured in Edwards' s ' Bi rds , ' plate 2810, and thus antedated Boddaert by two years.
This extraordinary bird is remarkable even among the unusual forms met -with amid the
members of the Bucerotidfe. Not only does it possess a large bill and casque, but, unlike all the
other species, thi s latter structure, instead of being hollow, is perfectly solid. This fact causes it
to be quite heavy; and a blow from the bill of a full-grown mal e upon a man' s head might easily
produce very serious, if not fatal, results. For what especial reason this bird is endowed with the
solid casque has not yet been ascertained : but it is probabl y for detaching bark or fruit f rom this
t r e e s ; for it would have nearly as great a n effect whe n struck against any object as a blow from a
hammer in the hands of a man. Another peculiar chai'acter possessed alone by this species
among the IlornbiUs is the great length of the two median rectrices, which extend for a
considerable distance beyond the rest of the feathers of the tail. "With its bony casque, bare neck,
and lengthened tail it seems fairly t o be entitled to a distinct generic r a n k ; and I have therefore
r e t a i n e d for it the term Bhinoplax, first proposed by Gloger in lSd!2, Nothing is known of its
economy or habits.
Male.—Bill straight, pointed, yellow, briek-red at base. About midway on the culmen rises
a solid bony casque, orange-red on its anterior half, brick-red for the remainder, wide on its
anterior face, curved on top, to which it narrows from the sides, b u t is nowhere compressed.
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