Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS

THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES

THE HORNBILLS

Rhinoceros Hornbills

The remainder of the Hornbills, with a single exception, comprise the true representatives of the group, and may be typified by the Rhinoceros Hornbills (Buceros), the bills of which appear to have been the first to find their way to Europe at least as early as 1599, where they created no little surprise and wonder. These Hornbills, of which two species are known, are birds of very large size, with a large, stout, and considerably curved bill, and a large, wedge-shaped, elevated casque.

The true Rhinoceros Hornbill (B. rhinoceros), which inhabits the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo, has a total length of forty-five inches and a wing of eighteen inches; the head, neck, back, wings, and breast are black, glossed with steel-blue on back and wings, while the rump, upper and under tail-coverts, thighs, abdomen, and tail are white, the latter with a subterminal band of black. The bill is whitish yellow, and the mandibles and casque black, while the remainder of the casque is red, shading to orange on the lower part.

This species, as indeed are all the true Hornbills, is arboreal in its habits and feeds largely on fruit, but it will also take a great variety of substances when it is held in captivity, as it frequently is by the natives and others.

The following account is from the pen of Mr. C. F. Adams, who collected for some time in Northeast Borneo: “They are abundant in those regions along the rivers where fruit trees occur, and their peculiar, sonorous notes can be heard at a considerable distance. Although these birds were numerous and could easily be located by their calls, they were difficult to procure. So far as wariness is concerned, they can put a Crow to shame, and it is very seldom that one can be approached within gunshot. Owing to their striking colors, they are very conspicuous objects in the trees, a fact of which they seem to be aware.

Their flight consists of several rapid wing beats, followed by majestic sailing, during which they gradually rise to a greater elevation. The sound produced by their wings during flight is astonishingly loud and often betrays their presence to a collector.”The other species {B. sylvestris), found in Java and Sumatra, is similar in appearance but much larger, being forty-seven inches long, and has a larger casque, which is, however, only slightly curved upward at the front.

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