192 GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



parents with food. The older the young birds grow the 

 more vociferous they become. 



Like the majority of birds that nestle in holes, 

 hoopoes with young display but little fear of man. 

 The nest of which I write was situated over the door 

 of the pantry, where servants work during the greater 

 part of the day. The hoopoes did not seem to object 

 at all to the presence of the servants, but they took 

 great exception to my arrival. Whenever I came upon 

 the scene the parent hoopoes used to greet me with 

 a harsh chur uttered with crest folded back and tail 

 expanded. 



One day a corby (Corvus macrorhynchus) , who 

 doubtless had done to death many a promising nest- 

 ling, alighted on a table placed in the verandah outside 

 the pantry. The hoopoes were furious at the intrusion. 

 They took up positions, to right and to left of the crow, 

 at a safe distance, and scolded it with great vehemence. 

 The crow took no notice whatever of this hostile 

 demonstration. After a little one of the hoopoes flew 

 to the ground, and from there continued its abuse of 

 the crow. Then, while waiting to regain its breath, 

 it expanded its crest and repeatedly bobbed its head 

 so that the tip of the bill almost touched the ground. 

 This bowing performance is evidently an expression 

 of great excitement. I have seen doves behaving in 

 a similar manner in the midst of a fight, and also when 

 courting. Here, then, we have a case of what is 

 usually considered to be showing off or display to the 

 female, taking place at a time when a bird is very 

 angry. The hoopoe in question was not showing off 



