THK HOOPOE Ml 



the hole itself often descends for a foot or two. In some cases no 

 nesting material is placed in the hole at first, while in others a few 

 hents and hits of'ruhbish are coll. < i< <l to-rther; hut the most curious 

 circumstance connected \\ith the nest is that it generally contains 

 ordure of some kind, often of the most offensive character, especially 

 in the Liter itagM of breeding. There seems to be no doubt that this 

 is deli I >< -r.itely collected by the bird itself, and it is a remarkable 

 . oinridriice that the nests of three such brilliantly plumaged birds as 

 the kingfisher, roller, and hoopoe should all be kept in apparently 

 such an insanitary state, and be so disgusting, at any rate, to our 

 senses. 



Here the hoopoe deposits her eggs. Most writers on ornithology 

 underestimate the number of eggs laid, but five is probably the 

 minimum for a full clutch; and some neste contain as many as nine, 

 ten, and even twelve, according to Radde. The common explanation 

 given of these large clutches, that two hens lay in one nest, seems 

 to be improbable in this case, owing to its restricted dimensions and 

 generally narrow entrance, while the hen begins to incubate before 

 the clutch is completed, as is proved by the fact that the eggs are 

 found in different stages of development, and, as soon M incubation 

 begins, the hen spends practically all her time in the nest In fact, 

 it is only after the closest observation that the hen can be detected 

 leaving the nest at all. The cock brings food to her on the nest 

 throughout the period of incubation, putting his head inside the hole 

 with insect food of some sort in his bill Dr. D. Scott, who had two 

 pairs breeding in the verandah of his house at Umballa, by close 

 watching ascertained that the hens left the nest once or twice during 

 the day, but only to take a short flight, during which they passed 

 their droppings, and returned to the nest without alighting on the 

 ground at all. 



The information given in most works on the time of year at which 

 the hoopoe breeds is usually of the vaguest character. But it has 

 already been shown that there is considerable variation in the time of 



