CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 2. PASSERES. 



101 













THE HOOPOE. 



The crest is very elegant, being composed of long feathers, each of which is tipped with black. 

 It is found from Sweden to Spain, and is common in England and France. It builds in the holes 

 of trees, forming the nest of a few stalks of grass and feathers; the eggs are usually from five to 

 six in number, and of a pale lavender-gray color. These birds inhabit the neighborhood of woods, 

 generally in marshy places, and seek their food — which consists of insects and worms — principally 

 upon the ground, where they walk and run with great ease. They also frequently visit trees in 

 search of their prey. They are fond of picking about in the filth around houses and stables, and 

 are sometimes descriptively called Dung-Birds in England. In captivity they are easily tamed, 

 and being highly intelligent, are very amusing. They have also very comical gestures, such as 

 an almost constant nodding of the head, as if walking with a cane ; at the same time they raise 

 and lower their crest, and move their tail sideways and up and down. They will follow their 

 keepers, and utter cries of joy at their approach. Their note resembles the word hoop pronounced 

 softly and rapidly. The French call this bird Huppe, in allusion to its crest. Other species are 

 the U. Capensis, or Fre(jilu2ius Capensis, and the Falculia palUata. 



THE GUITGUITS OR C^REBIX^. 



These have a straight or slightly curved bill, and are found in tropical South America and the 

 West Indian Islands. They are small, slender birds, and feed principally on the small insects 

 which they find in flowers; they are also said to feed on honey. Their plumage is exceedingly 

 beautiful in color, but lacks the metallic brilliancy of that of the humming-birds and sun-birds. 

 Their nests are of various forms, and built in difi'erent situations. Some species suspend them 

 from the extremities of twigs, and these pendulous dwellings are sometimes furnished with a 

 long funnel, through which the bird enters them ; other species make the nest in a bush or 

 tree, and in this case it is usually divided into two compartments, of which the outer serves as a 

 vestibule, while the eggs are laid in the inner one, and are thus protected from the attacks of 

 their enemies. The Azure Guitguit, Ccereba cyanea, is of a velvet black and blue color ; the 

 head golden. It is found in Guiana and Brazil. 



THE SUN-BIRDS OR PROMEROPIDiE. 



These, which are called Cinnyridce by some naturalists, and are closely allied to the Upupidce, 

 embrace two sub-families, one found in the eastern, the other in the western hemisphere. The 

 former constitute the true Sun-Birds, which in India and the eastern archipelago seem to supply 

 the place of the humming-birds of America ; they even rival those living gems in the brilliancy of 

 their colors, and their habits are very similar. In the morning and evening they are constantly 

 seen in great numbers in the neighborhood of flowers, into which they thrust their slender bills 



