This curious bird is of the order _Picæ_, or Pies, and of the genus
_Buceros_, consisting of birds of rather large size, and distinguished
by the disproportionate forms of their beaks, which are often still
further remarkable for some kind of large prominence on the upper
mandible. The most conspicuous species is the _Buceros Rhinoceros_ of
Linnæus, commonly called the Rhinoceros Bird.
[Illustration: The Rhinoceros Bird.]
Its general size is that of a Turkey, but with a much more slenderly
proportioned body. Its colour is black, with the tail white, crossed by
a black bar: the beak is of enormous size, of a lengthened, slightly
curved, and pointed shape, and on the upper mandible, towards the base,
is an extremely large process, equal in thickness to the bill itself,
and turning upwards and backwards in the form of a thick, sharp-pointed
horn, somewhat resembling the horn of the rhinoceros. The use of this
strange proboscis is by some supposed to be that of enabling the bird
more easily to tear out the entrails of its prey; but others affirm that
it is not of a predaceous nature, feeding only on vegetable substances.
This bird is principally found in the East Indian Islands. A remarkably
fine specimen was preserved in the Leverian Museum.
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