Zoological Society, 551 



In honorem viri reverend! August! Harfordii hsec species nomen 

 obtineat. 



It is almost impossible to describe the varied markings of this fine 

 Helix. Only the two last whorls are spotted and striped, the rest 

 being pale brown. The cloudy markings of the penultimate whorl 

 become more distinct, and the colouring becomes deeper as the body- 

 whorl is approached, and there the spots and fillets become more 

 crowded and intense as they approach the subcentral band, till just 

 above it they form a dark -brown zone. The part polished by the 

 animal is of a bright amber hue. — W. J. B. Oct. 12, 1840. 



M. Le Baron de la Fresnaye then read his observations on the 

 situation which the genus Upupa, in his opinion, should occupy in 

 the classification of Birds, judging from the form of the feet, and 

 from the habits of the species. 



Following is a translation of this author's observations : — 



" It is surprising, now it is generally known that the classifica- 

 tion of species and genera, based solely upon the form of the beak, 

 is often unnatural and vicious, that modem authors should have 

 continued to unite, as did the old authors, the genus Upupa with 

 that of Epimachus or Promerops, and that they should constitute 

 of these genera a little family under the name of Promeropida. 



" It is evident that authors have been guided solely by the struc- 

 ture of the beak in such an association ; and if the feet of these genera 

 be compared, we are struck with the enormous difference which 

 exists in their conformation, and consequently, of necessity, with the 

 habits of the species. 



*' The Hoopoe, in fact, in the shortness of its fore toes, in the al- 

 most straight form of the claws, and particularly in the claw of the 

 hind toe, we perceive has evident affinities with the Larks {Alauda) 

 and other conirostral ground birds. Like them, also, the Hoopoe seeks 

 its food on the ground, and especially on humid and newly disturbed 

 land. It is often seen in grazing lands, where it searches for its food 

 in the excrement of cattle, in which coprophagous insects abound. Its 

 long and very slender beak is well adapted for pulling out the larvae 

 of these insects from the small holes in which they live and undergo 

 their transformations : it serves well likewise to divide and disperse 

 the excrement when dried by the sun. 



'* It is seen that the Hoopoe, with its feet formed like those of the 

 larks, also essentially resembles those birds in its cursorial habits, 

 but that it seeks its nourishment only on the ground, and in moist 

 lands, such as pastures. 



" If, on the other hand, we consider the form of the feet of the 

 species of Promerops, with which the Hoopoe is usually associated, 

 it will be seen that there exists a very essential difference in these 

 organs. The feet of the Promerops are as remarkable for their 

 thickness as those of the Hoopoe (though fitted for walking) are for 

 their slenderness. In the first of these genera the toes are strong ; 

 the external toe is elongated, as well as the back toe, as in all those 

 birtjs which are essentially perchers and which procure their food 



