^^5 HOOPOE. Class II. 



birds marked with narrow dufky lines pointing 

 down : the lefler coverts of the wings are of a light 

 brown : the back, fcapulars and wings crofled with 

 broad bars of white and black : the rump is 

 white: the tail confifts of only ten feathers, white 

 marked with black, in form of a crefcent, the 

 horns pointing towards the end of the feathers. 

 The legs are fhort and black : the exterior toe 

 is clofely united at the bottom to the middle toe. 



According to Linn^us it takes its name from 

 its note*, which has a found fimilar to the word ; 

 or it may be derived from the French huppe^ or 

 crelled : it breeds in hollow trees, and lays two 

 afh-colored eggs : it feeds on infedts which it picks 

 out of ordure of all kinds : the antients believed 

 that it made its neft of human excrement ; fo far 

 is certain, that its hole is exceffively foetid from 

 the tainted food it brings to its young. The coun- 

 try people in Sweden look on the appearance of this 

 bird as a prefage of war ; 



' Fades armata videtur. 



and formerly the vulgar in our country efleemed 

 it a forerunner of fome calamity. It vifits thefe ifl- 

 ands frequently •, but not at dated feafons, neither 

 does it breed with us. It is found in many parts 

 of Europe^ in Egypt^ and even as remote as Ceylon, 

 The 'Turks call it Tir Chacus or the mefTenger bird, 



* Faun, Suec, 2d edit, 37. 



from 



