142 BOMBAY DUCKS 



of bare skin may be visible. The full beauty of most 

 birds cannot be appreciated except upon minute in- 

 spection. To this rule the hoopoe forms an exception. 



Let us, then, content ourselves with watching him at 

 a little distance. The crest of the bird, which was 

 erected at our approach, gradually sinks, and feeding 

 is resumed. Now, a hoopoe taking a meal always puts 

 me in mind of a passenger hurriedly devouring dinner 

 at a railway station. The bird feeds as though it were 

 eating against time. It plunges its long beak into the 

 turf with what appears to be feverish haste, seizes some- 

 thing, and swallows it at a gulp. It then takes a hurried 

 step, and again plunges its beak into the ground. Be- 

 sides excavating those insect larvae known as " ant 

 lions," which set traps for unwary creeping things, the 

 hoopoe digs up each and every kind of subterranean 

 grub. It also feeds upon ants, small beetles, and grass- 

 hoppers. The bird must have a most voracious appetite, 

 since, notwithstanding the fact that it eats so quickly, 

 it spends most of the day in seeking food. 



Hoopoes live in couples, and usually feed in com- 

 pany. When they fly they sweep through the air in 

 undulating curves. Most beautiful objects do they 

 appear as their vibrating wings flash in the sunlight. 

 They then look, as Colonel Cunningham well says, 

 more like great butterflies than birds. The hoopoe, 

 though it seeks its food entirely on the ground, is gifted 

 with no mean powers of flight. Mr. Phillips states that 

 a trained hawk almost invariably fails to catch it. 



Hoopoes are pugnacious birds and are treated with 

 great respect by their neighbours. Even the redoubt- 



