THE HOOPOE 145 



tree in Madras. I further came across a nest in June 

 at Gonda, in Northern India. The nest was in the mud 

 wall of a stable, just below the roof. The nest is quite 

 easy to find. It is only necessary to watch some 

 hoopoes in the earlier months of the year, and, if they 

 are nesting, you will be able to track them to their lair 

 without difficulty. The parent flops lazily along, right 

 up to the nest. It may feed the young from outside, or 

 may enter the nest and remain there for a few seconds. 



If you see a hoopoe visit any hole ten or twenty 

 times in the course of an hour, you may be absolutely 

 certain that it has a nest in that hole. Birds which nest 

 in holes take no precautions to conceal the fact that 

 they are going to the nest, as many birds, which build 

 exposed nurseries, do. In the former case there is no 

 need for caution, in the latter there is. 



I have often amused myself by sitting quite close to 

 a nest in a hole ; the parent returns with some tasty 

 morsel for the youngsters, and is disgusted to find an 

 ogre sitting near the nursery. As a rule the bird will 

 fidget about for a little outside the nest, in the hope 

 that the intruder will take himself off, and, if this does 

 not happen, it will boldly enter the nest. From four to 

 seven eggs are usually laid by the hoopoe ; these are 

 pale blue or greenish white in colour. 



Two species of hoopoe are found in India, but they 

 are so similar that it seems unnecessary to divide them. 

 One form is called the European hoopoe {Upupa epops) 

 and the other the Indian hoopoe {Upupa indica). They 

 are distinguished by the former having some white in 

 the crest. But most birds in Northern India display 



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