272 



THE HOOPOE. 



stuffer at Berwick for preservation, in whose shop it was 

 seen by Mr. George Bolam. The gamekeeper at Mording- 

 ton, Mr, James Purves, has informed me that one day in 

 September 1883, when he and his son were going to Ay ton, 

 they saw a Hoopoe alight on the dyke between the moor 

 and the Camp Field on Lamberton Farm. It put up its crest 

 several times, and then flew away, and alighted amongst 

 some burned whins on the racecourse. 



I have never had an opportunity of observing the Hoopoe 

 in this country, but have seen numbers at La Buisson Lusas, 

 Loire et Cher, France, where they frequented the edges of 

 woods and old orchards, and were very shy and wary. They 

 built their nests in holes in trees, and were not very par- 

 ticular with regard to the materials which they used, as 

 described in the following old French lines : — 



" Dedans iin creux, avec fange et ordure, 

 La Huppe fait ses ceufs et sa maison." ^ 



1 See The Folk-lore of British Birds, Swainson, p. 106. 



