THE HOOPOE 109 



complete reinstation of the species, and stock our 

 southern English counties with Hoopoes, which 

 might eventually spread northwards ; for the bird 

 breeds on the Continent as far north as South 

 Sweden and Denmark. The Hoopoe has absolutely 

 been known to breed in Devon, Dorset, Wilts, 

 Hants, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent. To other parts 

 of the British Islands the Hoopoe, at present, can 

 only be regarded as an abnormal migrant, although 

 the evidence seems to show that in the south of 

 Ireland the bird may be a normal spring migrant, 

 only requiring a little judicious preservation to 

 establish it as a regular breeding species. When 

 we read that no less than seven of these charming 

 birds fell to one gun in a week on a single Sussex 

 estate, or that a certain spot in Kent, apparently 

 in the direct line of migration, is notorious for its 

 butchery of Hoopoes, we may reasonably protest 

 and demand that such slaughter shall cease. We 

 fear that legislation is powerless without public 

 co-operation, and this surely need not be asked in 

 vain in such a compassionate age as ours ! Un- 

 fortunately, the Hoopoe is a very conspicuous bird, 

 and also a confiding and unsuspicious one, easily 

 approached and shot. 



Outside our limits the Hoopoe has an exceedingly 



