THE HOOPOE. 255 



great precision, and disappears. When it seizes 

 a worm, however, the process is somewhat 

 different. It bruises it by beating it against the 

 ground, pinches it all over between the man- 

 dibles, and finally swallows it lengthwise with 

 sundry jerks of the head. 



In other respects, as well as in the mode of 

 taking their food, the Hoopoes resemble the 

 Hornbills. They build in holes of trees as 

 the latter are known to do, and the hens sit upon 

 the eggs without interruption until they are 

 hatched, the males, as in the case of the Horn- 

 bills, bringing food and feeding them from the 

 outside of the hole. The eggs, which are gene- 

 rally five or six in number, are elongated, nearly 

 oval, and of a greenish grey colour. The 

 young when first hatched are naked, but soon 

 get covered with small blue quills from which 

 the feathers sprout. They are unable to stand 

 upright until nearly fledged, but crouch forward 

 and utter a hissing noise. Their crests are 

 soon developed, but their bills do not acquire 

 their full length until the following year. 



