222 Letters, Announcements, b^c. 



for more. * * * I have heard of a small Falcon caught here 

 called the ' Keytal Turoomtee ' and used in hawking, but not 

 Hypotriorchis chicquera -, it may be Hobby or Merlin : but I am 

 promised some shortly. I am now going to hawk Houbara 

 with the Cherrug, and to do a little more of the desert-country. 

 I hope to get Grus leucogeranus, dead or alive." 



Dr. David Scott, in a letter to Mr. Blyth, dated " Umballah, 

 November 4th, 1865," says : — 



"This year I had two Hoopoes' \Upupa epops"^^ nests in my 

 verandah ; and after the hens began to sit I never saw them 

 outside at all, but the two males fed them regularly inside the 

 nest. When Colonel Tytler came down some time last month, 

 I mentioned that I was almost positive that the hen Hoopoe 

 never left her nest during the period of incubation. He said at 

 once that this was curious, as you believed the Hoopoe was 

 nearest in structure to a species of Buceros in which this was the 

 case. As you are aware, 1 have not the very slightest pretension 

 to be an ornithologist in any way beyond mere observation ; I 

 was therefore quite ignorant of what Col. Tytler mentioned, as 

 well as Dr. Jerdon directly I told him. 



" These two pairs of Hoopoes were so tame and used to seeing 

 me sitting in the verandah, that my presence never disturbed 

 them in the least ; and I twice saw the males tread the females 

 just at the bottom of the steps, and within ten yards of where I 

 was sitting. I was therefore thoroughly familiar with them, 

 and can assert most positively that, for a number of days, I 

 never saw the female of either pair out. I did not pay any atten- 

 tion at first to the circumstance of there being only two flying 

 about, until I observed both males going up to the nests with 

 gnats in their bills, giving a call, and then putting their heads 

 inside for the hens to take the food. The feeding-times were 

 morning and evening, at regular hours, the former about seven 

 or eight o'clock, and again in the afternoon about four o'clock. 



" I have seen the males getting the gnats, &c., close under 

 the very steps I was sitting on, and almost within two yards of 

 my chair, then flying up, giving a call, and coming down again 

 directly the food was taken. The nests were at opposite ends of 

 the verandah, and only one of the broods came out. I saw some 



