THE HOOPOE. 



Hoopoe. 



Cuckoo. 



The Hoopoe is one of the most elegant birds that visit England. Its beautiful crest can be raised or 

 depressed at pleasure, but is seldom displayed unless the bird is excited from some cause. Its food con- 

 sists of insects, which it first batters and moulds into an oblong mass, and then swallows, with a peculiar 

 jerk of the head. In France, Hoopoes are very common, and may be seen examining old and rotten 

 stumps for the insects that invariably congregate in such places. There they m;iy be seen in flocks, but 

 they never seem to come over to England in greater numbers than one pair at a time. M. Beckstein gives 

 a curious account of the attitude assumed by the Hoopoe on perceiving a large bird in the air. " As soon 

 as they perceived a raven, or even a pigeon, they were on their bellies in the twinkling of an eye, their 

 wings stretched out by the side of the head, so that the large quill feathers touched ; the head leaning on 

 the back with the bill pointing upwards. In this curious posture they might be taken for an old rag !" It 

 lays from four to seven grey eggs in the hollow of a tree. Its length is one foot. 



Wheatear. 



Goldfinch. 



Linnet. 



'.--;■ 



^sir — " ... 



Common Bunting. 



Quail. 



Skylnrk. 



