Bird Notes from the Nile. 35 



they grew bolder and bolder, coming gradu- 

 ally nearer in short little flights, and at 

 last came so close that had I wished I 

 could easily have touched them. They 

 walked round and round me, and ended 

 by peeping carefully into the basket con- 

 taining my sketching materials. They 

 seemed at last satisfied with their inspec- 

 tion, and trotted off along the low wall 

 near which I was sitting, and remained on 

 it sunning themselves for at least a quarter 

 of an hour before they flew away in search 

 of further excitement. 



While we were at Aswan, Hoopoes were 

 often sold for food in the market, but owing 

 to the intervention of the S.P.C.A., this 

 cruel practice is now punishable. In 

 captivity they become very tame, but 

 are not agreeable pets, as it is almost 

 impossible to keep their cages sweet and 

 clean. Hoopoes build anywhere — in 

 holes in the ground, in trees and stumps, 

 and cracks in walls. Unlike almost every 

 other bird, even in a wild state, their nests 

 are very dirty, neither of the pair taking 

 the least pains to keep it at all tidy. 



The Arab legend of the Hoopoe's crest 



D 2 



