12 UPUPIDJE 



UPUPA 



following are the chief recorded localities. In Cape Colony the 

 Cape, Swellendam, Knysna, Port Elizabeth, East London, Beaufort 

 West, Middelburg and Gordonia divisions ; throughout Natal from 

 Durban to Newcastle ; Kroonstad and Bloemfontein in the Orange 

 Eiver Colony ; Lydenburg, Eustenburg and Swaziland in the 

 Transvaal ; Salisbury and the higher reaches of the Zambesi in 

 Khodesia, Bechuanaland and Damaraland. 



Beyond our limits it extends to Angola, Nyasaland and German 

 and British east Africa. 



Habits. The South African Hoopoe is easily distinguished from 

 the well-known European bird by its completely black primary 

 quills, those in the more familiar species are crossed by a band of 

 white. Generally solitary or in pairs, it is sometimes seen in small 

 flocks, especially about the time of migration. A favourite haunt 

 is among the mimosa trees which line the banks of so many South 

 African rivers ; here it can be heard sometimes with its well-known 

 cry of "hoop hoop" or "poup poup," from which it derives its trivial 

 name. When at rest the high crest is usually recumbent, but when 

 excited it keeps on raising and lowering it. The Hoopoe feeds chiefly 

 on insects such as grasshoppers and beetles and their grubs, in search 

 of which it probes the damp ground with its long bill and scrutinises 

 the crevices of rocks and trees. It is stated to be a very shy bird 

 and difficult to approach. The South African Hoopoe appears to 

 be migratory to a certain extent. Mr. Andersson stated that in 

 Damaraland it is found only in the rainy season, i.e. (October to 

 March) arriving in small flocks, which, however, soon disperse. In 

 Mashonaland, too, Mr. Marshall states that they are found in small 

 flocks in early spring, and finally Mr. Atmore notices that Hoopoes 

 were to be found near Meiring's Poort (in the Oudtshoorn division 

 of the Colony) between June and January only ; at present, 

 however, it is not possible to give an exact account of their 

 wanderings. 



Mr. L. Layard found this bird breeding at Grootevaders Bosch 

 in the Swellendam division ; no nest was made but the eggs 

 were laid on the mud used for cementing the stones of a rough 

 wall. As in the case of the European bird the nest, or rather the 

 place where the eggs were laid, was exceedingly foul and evil- 

 smelling. Mr. Ivy informs me that these birds breed between 

 October and January in the neighbourhood of Grahamstown, 

 choosing a hollow tree or an ant heap in which to deposit their 

 eggs, which are four to five in number. The eggs are very pale 



