Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill

SCI Name:  Bucorvus abyssinicus
Protonym:  Buceros abyssinicus TablePlanchesEnlum. p.48
Taxonomy:  Bucerotiformes / Bucorvidae / Bucorvus
Taxonomy Code:  noghor1
Type Locality:  Ethiopia.
Author:  Boddaert
Publish Year:  1783
IUCN Status:  Vulnerable

DEFINITIONS

BUCORVUS
(Bucerotidae; Ϯ Northern Ground Hornbill B. abyssinicus) Portmanteau of genera Buceros Linnaeus, 1758, hornbill, and Corvus Linnaeus, 1758, raven; “In other cases, where the commencement of both the simple words is retained in the compound, a fault is still committed by cutting off too much of the radical and vital portions, as is the case in Bucorvus (from Bucorvus and Corvus)" (Strickland Code 1842); "III.^e Sous-genre. NACIBA; Bucorvus.   Bec très-long, peu recourbé, à mandibules très-comprimées; les narines couvertes par deux faisceaux de poils rigides, sétacés; cils épais autour de l'œil; joues et devant du cou entièrement nus; casque creux, tronqué et ouvert en avant; tarses très-longs.   Observ. Les calaos de ce sous-genre  recherchent les charognes, les insectes, dans les champs de teffs.   16. CALAO CARONCULÉ; Buceros abyssinicus, Gm.  ...  Habite l'Abyssinie, où on le nomme, suivant Bruce, teïr-el-Naciba, ou oiseau de la destinée." (Lesson 1830); "Bucorvus Lesson, Traité d'Orn., livr. 4, 1830, p. 256. Type, by monotypy, Buceros abyssinicus Boddaert." (Peters, 1945, V, p. 272). The ground hornbills have been treated as a separate family Bucorvidae, or as a subfamily or clade of the Bucerotidae.
Var. Bucervus.
Synon. Bucorax, Tmetoceros.

abyssinaica / abyssinica / abyssinicus / abyssinus
Mod. L. Abyssinicus Abyssinian, of Abyssinia or Ethiopia (Arabic name Habaš for the area < Geez, the classical language of Ethiopia, used Habaśā for the peoples of the region). In ornithology ‘Abyssinian’ is often still used, since it covers both Eritrea and Ethiopia and cannot be confused with ‘Ethiopian’, a former term for the Afrotropical zoögeographical region.
● ex “Grand Calao d’Abyssinie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 779, “Calao d’Abyssinie” of de Buffon 1770-1786, and “Abyssinian Hornbill” of Latham 1781 (Bucorvus).
● ex “Rollier d’Abyssinie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 626, and “Abyssinian Roller” of Latham 1781 (Coracias).
● ex "Gros bec d'Abyssinie" of de Buffon 1770-1786, and "Abyssinian Grosbeak" of Latham 1783 (subsp. Ploceus cucullatus).
● ex “Waalia Pigeon” of Bruce 1790 (syn. Treron waalia).
● ex “Merle brun d’Abissinie” of Brisson 1760, and “Abyssinian Thrush” of Latham 1783 (Turdus).
● See: habessinicus