138 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



HOOPOE. 



This bird has been known in past times to 

 breed in several parts of England, but the perse- 

 cution it underwent in King Solomon's time, when 

 tradition says that its handsome crest was made 

 of gold, has so increased, that a detailed description 

 of the bird, its habits, nest, eggs, etc., seems un- 

 necessary in a work of this character. I fear a 

 breeding pair of birds are never again likely to 

 escape the lynx-eyed gunner in this country. 



JACKDAW, Also DAW. 



Description of Parent Birds. Length about 

 fourteen inches. Beak of medium length, strong, 

 nearly straight, and black. Irides greyish-white. 

 Crown black with a purple sheen ; nape and back 

 of neck leaden-grey. Back, wings, upper tail- 

 coverts, and tail black, glossed with blue, violet, 

 and green. All the under-parts are dusky black. 

 Legs, toes, and claws black. 



The female is a trifle smaller than the male, 

 and the grey on the back of her neck is less 

 pronounced. 



Situation and Locality. Holes in cliffs, church 

 steeples, towers, old ruins, barns, and hollow trees, 

 pretty generally throughout the British Isles. Our 

 illustration is of a nest in the ventilation hole of 

 a stone barn. It w r as slightly drawn forward, and 

 light reflected upon it with a looking-glass, in 

 order to take the photograph. The largest colony 

 I have ever met with is near Armathwaite Castle, 

 in Cumberland. 



