Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS

THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES

THE HORNBILLS

Solid-billed Hornbill

The most remarkable and aberrant genus containing the single Solid-billed or Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) has already been mentioned. It is a very large bird, nearly five and a half feet in length, of which, however, some thirty-four inches is taken up by the greatly elongated central pair of tail-feathers.

It has a nearly straight, sharp-pointed bill of moderate length, while the casque is high, flat at the sides, rounded above and squarely cut off in front, all the front part being solid. The whole chin and throat, as well as the neck all around and the middle of the back, are naked. In the male the central pair of tail-feathers are twice as long as the others, though curiously enough it is rare to find a specimen in which both these elongated feathers are present; the sexes are alike in plumage.

The general color is brown above and white beneath, with the outside of the wings black tipped with white, and the tail with the central pair of feathers whitish brown and the others white, all being black-banded near the tips. The anterior half of the bill and the front of the casque are yellow, while the remainder of the casque and the basal portion of the bill are crimson; the iris is dark red, and the bare portions together with the legs and feet as well as the skin beneath the feathers is dull, deep red in the male and reddish lilac or blue in the female.

This species inhabits the Malay Peninsula, as well as Sumatra and Borneo, being a shy bird of the highest forest trees, where it is usually seen in pairs seeking its food of fruits, for which it never descends to the ground. It has a weak flight but a very powerful note, which can be heard for a distance of a mile or more.”It begins with a series of whoops, uttered at intervals that gradually grow less, after ten or a dozen quick repetitions, and ends in a harsh cackling laugh.

”It is always killed, whenever opportunity offers, for its curious, highly prized bill, which is carved by the natives into love charms. Little or nothing is known of its habits of nidification or the uses to which it puts its heavy casque, though according to Dr. Abbott it may be that the latter is for the purpose of giving force to its bill in breaking nuts or something of the kind.

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