390 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



ground, on which they run and walk with ease. They build a 

 remarkable nest of clay, straw, and dried herbage, in the form 

 of an oven, with the entrance on one side, and the interior di- 

 vided into two partitions. By their terrestrial habit they perhaps 

 tend towards the Hoopoes. 



Fam. UpuPiDiE, Hoopoes. 



3ill long and slender, slightly curved throughout ; the tip acute 

 and entire ; nostrils small ; wings rounded ; tail moderate or long, 

 even or rounded; tarsi short and stout ; outer toe syndactyle at the 

 base; toes and claws strong. 



This family, and the reasons for placing it here, have been al- 

 ready alluded to (p. 358). They comprise a very small number of 

 birds, chiefly African, one genus extending over the greater part of 

 Europe and Asia, as well as of Africa. 



Sub-fam. Upupin^. 



Tail with ten feathers ; wings long ; bill keeled at the base ; head 

 with a large erectile crest. 



Gen. Upupa, Lin. 



Char. — Bill very long, moderately curved, compressed ; gape 

 wide ; head with a large crest ; nostrils round, slightly removed 

 from the base, destitute of any membrane ; wings long, with 4th 

 quill longest ; tail even, broad, of ten feathers ; tarsus moderate, 

 with transverse scutse in front, reticulate posteriorly ; claws short, 

 that of hallux longer, somewhat straight. 



The Hoopoes are ground-feeders, and nestle in holes of trees, 

 or of walls. The few species are found in the Old World, not 

 extending to Australia. The tongue is short and heart-shaped ; 

 the mandibles are flat, not even grooved internally ; their stomach 

 is membranous ; the intestines are devoid of cseca ; and the 

 sternum is notched posteriorly, 



254. Upupa epops, Lin. 



PI. Enl., 52— Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 238— Blyth, Cat. 

 194 — HoRSF., Cat. 1054— Sykes, Cat. 125 (in part)— Upupa 

 indica, HoDQS. — Hudhud, Persian and V{'mi\.—Kat-kuto, Sind. 



