THE HOOPOKS. 14? 
some wealthy naturalist does not import a _ few 
dozen from the continent, and turn them loose, a 
proceeding which would have the effect of completely 
upsetting the value so absurdly placed on ‘‘genuine 
British-killed specimens,’’ as then no one would know 
whether any Hoopoe appearing in England had got there 
naturally or not, and so the makers of the pettifogging 
“local records’’ would be quite at a loss. 
THE Inpran Hoopor (Upupa nigripennis). This very 
closely resembles the European bird, but differs in being 
of a warm cinnamon where the other is buff; this colour 
also extends further, there being no white band before 
the black tip of the crest, and the reddish hue running 
further down the belly. Moreover, the wing is _propor- 
tionately shorter in this species, and the bill often longer. 
This Hoopoe is a resident bird, and is found nearly all 
over India, Burma, and Ceylon, except Sind and the West- 
ern Punjab; eastwards it extends to Hainan. It is not 
found in the vicinity of Calcutta, where Hoopoes are 
never common ; but all those I have seen there, whether 
at large or brought into the New Market, have belonged 
to the last species. The habits of the Indian Hoopoe 
are the same as those of the Western bird ; in India it 
may be found breeding from February to May, and in 
Ceylon from December to April. As some Indian speci- 
mens show a tinge of white on the crest, it is suspected 
that the two species interbreed, and this is extremely 
likely to be the case. 
Before leaving the subject of Hoopoes, it may be as well 
to mention a legend about these birds which I found was. 
