420 



three-fourths of the English counties,* in both North and 

 South Wales, in Ireland and Scotland, while in all the 

 counties on our southern and eastern coasts it has been 

 many times killed. Turner, in 1544, said that, so far as he 

 knew, it was not found in Britain ; but in 1667 Merrett 

 (Pinax, p. 173) announced its occurrence in the New Forest 

 and in Essex, and the next year Charleton (Onomasticon, 

 pp. 92, 93) described and figured one killed ten miles from 

 London in the winter of 1666-7. Sir T. Browne soon after, 

 as it would seem, wrote that he had often seen this " gallant 

 marked bird " (presumably in Norfolk), adding, " 'tis not 

 hard to shoot them." Willughby noticed examples pro- 

 cured in Northumberland and Surrey, and Plot others 

 observed in Oxfordshire ; while, in 1684, Sibbald (Hist. 

 Anim. Scotl. p. 16) recorded it from the Scottish border and 

 Orkney. In the first half of the last century Albin and 

 Edwards recorded more specimens obtained in England, as 

 did Charles Smith (State of Waterford, Ed. 2, p. 237) one 

 shot at Stradbally in Ireland, during the great frost of 1739. 

 Being a regular summer- visitant to Europe, the Hoopoe is 

 mostly seen in spring in the British Islands, but it is by no 

 means uncommon in autumn, and is occasionally observed 

 in winter, as shewn by two of the records just cited. Hunt 

 also mentions having had specimens which were shot in 

 November and December ; Graves (Nat. Journ. i. p. 22) one 

 killed at Musselburgh in February, 1832 ; and Blyth (Mag. 

 N. H. ser. 2, ii. p. 595) one that occurred in Scilly in 

 January, 1837 ; another was found dead, but quite 'fresh, in 

 Suffolk in the beginning of December, 1846 (Zool. p. 1693) ; 

 and according to Jardine's communication to Mr. Harting 

 two were shot in Dumfriesshire in the winter of 1870-1. 



That this species, if not so uselessly molested, would 

 yearly breed in this country there can be little doubt. 

 White, writing in 1767, said that a pair frequented the 

 ground adjoining his garden for some weeks in the summer, 



* Those which seem not to be yet stained with its blood are Huntingdon, 

 Rutland, Derby, Monmouth, Hereford, Worcester, Warwick, Chester and West- 

 moreland, but their innocence is doubtless only a matter of time. 



