172 CERTHIAD.E. 



Gibraltar. Captain Brown was told by an officer of tlie 92nd 

 Regiment that tins bird is met with in great numbers near 

 Ceuta, in Africa, opposite to Gibralta, during the whole 

 year, and Dr. Heiniken included the Hoopoe in his enumera- 

 tion of the birds of Madeira ; it probably inhabits the whole 

 of the northern part of Africa, and is recorded as breeding in 

 Egypt. It is common in Italy from May to September, was 

 seen at Hushah by Mr. Strickland in April, and has been 

 received lately by the Zoological Society from Trebizond. 



In the adult male the length of the beak, from the point to 

 the angle of the gape, is two inches and one quarter ; the dis- 

 tal two-thirds of its length nearly black ; the base flesh colour, 

 or pale reddish brown ; the irides brown ; from the forehead, 

 over the top of the head to the occiput, are two parallel rows 

 of elongated feathers, arranged with their surfaces outwards 

 towards the side, forming a crest ; the longest feathers, which 

 are those about the middle, have the base of a rich buff 

 colour ; towards the end of the feather, a patch of white tipped 

 with velvet black ; the feathers of that part of the crest on 

 the forehead are the shortest of the series, and are without 

 the white patch ; the sides of the head and back of the neck 

 pale buff ; across the back are three half-circular bands, in- 

 clining downwards, one band of white between two of black ; 

 the rump white ; the upper tail-coverts white at the base, and 

 black at the end ; the tail-feathers are black, Avith a well- 

 defined white patch about half way along in the middle fea- 

 thers, but gradually nearer the end in those toward the out- 

 side of the tail, which gives to this band the form of a portion 

 of a circle when the tail-feathers are spread : both sets of 

 wing-coverts are black, with a transverse bar of bufFy Avhite ; 

 the feathers on the shoulder and carpal joint pale brown ; the 

 primaries jet black, with one broad bar of white ; the 

 secondaries and tertials also black, but with four or five nar- 

 row bars of Avhitc ; some of the tertials have in addition 



