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Mr. M. J. Nicoix,



SOME NOTES ON BREHM’S HOOPOE.


Upupa epops major.


By M. J. Nicoix,


Assisia?it Director Giza Zoological Gardens.


As long ago as 1S55, Brelim separated the resident Egyptian

Hoopoe from the European race and called it Upupa major

(Brelim Vogelfang, p. 78, 1S55). Subsequent writers have en¬

tirely overlooked this well-marked subspecies, although there

are several specimens in the British Museum collection.


Earl}'- in 1909, Mr. J. E. Bonliote and the present writer

obtained specimens of Hoopoes at Inclias in Lower Egypt, which

were at once recognised as being different from Upupa epops epops

by their longer and much deeper bills. A comparison of these

specimens with Brehm’s type, now preserved in the Hon. W.

Rothschild’s collection at Tring, showed them to be identical

with Upupa major (cf Bull, B.O.C., XXIII. p. 100, 1909).


Subsequent researches by the writer have proved that

Brehm’s Hoopoe is resident in Lower Egypt, and also probably

in the Fayoum, though as regards the latter place further in¬

vestigation is necessary as we have at present no absolute proof

that this race breeds there, though it is extremely probable that

it does so, seeing that Upupa major is the breeding form at Luxor,

where there is little doubt that it is resident.


There is no doubt, however, that Brehm’s Hoopoe is the

breeding Hoopoe of the Nile delta, where it is resident and

resorts to the mud houses of the native villages for nidification.


On April 20th, 1910, I paid a visit to Inclias for the pur¬

pose of obtaining young examples of this Hoopoe for the Giza

Zoological Gardens. Several nests were found containing newly-

hatched young, but none of them were old enough to take. The

nests were all in holes in the mud walls of houses, and in several

cases the adult females were brooding the young.


As we were too early, I made arrangements with a local

native to get me young birds of a suitable age for rearing, and a

short time afterwards I received from him two lots of young;

the first being two well-grown young birds, and later, a nest of

six youngsters, which were just feathering.


Of the first lot, one met with an accident which caused its



