58 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



rump white ; upper tail-coverts black, s-lightly tipped with white ; tail- 

 feathers black, with a broad white band across the middle and descending 

 obliquely towards the tips of the outer rectrices ; quills black, ban-ed with 

 white; the innermost secondaries barred and striped with pale buff; 

 abdomen, crissum and under tail-coverts white ; flanks somewhat striped 

 with brown. 



[ris brown ; bill black at tip and flesh-coloured at base ; feet grey. 



Total length 12 inches, wing 5-80, culmen 2-30, tarsus -80. 



Adult female resembles the male, but is rather duller in colouring. 



The winter plumage is duller than that of spring. 



The Hoopoe is one of the earliesst summer migrants in Tunisia, the 

 first arrivals being generally observed towards the end of February or 

 beginning of March, after which date, and until the end of April, the 

 migration of the species continues unabated. 



By the middle of May, the spring passage may be considered as 

 ended, but throughout the summer Hoopoes may be found in Tunisia, 

 as a considerable number remain and breed in the Kegency, both 

 north and south of the Atlas Mountains. The return migration in 

 autunm appears to be far less noticeable than the spring one, owing 

 perhaps to this passage being effected during the night, or in the early 

 hours of the morning. During the late autumn a few Hoopoes are to 

 be seen in the Regency and, I am informed, stragglers occasionally 

 occur in the middle of winter. 



Throughout Algeria and Marocco the Hoopoe is as common as it 

 is in Tunisia, and it is abundant in Tripoli also. 



As a rule the Hoopoe is to be seen singly, or in pairs, but during 

 the periods of actual migration small parties of the liirds njay be 

 noticed together, and I have occasionally observed as many as a dozen 

 individuals within a short distance of each other. Wooded country is 

 mostly affected by the Hoopoe, particularly the outskirts of planta- 

 tions and hedge-rows, and the well-bushed hill-sides, common in some 

 parts of Tunisia, are favourite resorts of the species. The clumps of 

 wild jujube bushes abundant in the semi-cultivated districts are also 

 much frequented by these birds, which may often be seen flitting from 

 bush to bush, their strongly-marked plumage rendering them very 

 conspicuous. The Hoopoe's flight is light and undulating. 



The bird may often be noticed on the ground, probing the soil 

 with its long bill in search of food, which consists chiefly of worms, 

 beetles and other ground insects. On the outskirts of villages it may 



