142 HARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



has familiarized English readers with it in " Westward 

 Ho ! It seems that the Hoopoes had rendered a signal 

 service to King Solomon, who thereupon offered them a 

 reward. This they very foolishly chose to have in the 

 form of golden crowns ; but, on finding they were perse- 

 cuted to the death for their unlucky jewelry, they came 

 to the king to ask him to take back his gift. He saved 

 his royal word by leaving them the crown, but changing 

 it to one of feathers, which they have worn happily every- 

 where but in England, where the " enthusiastic local 

 naturalist " cares -not a jot for King Solomon ! The 

 Hoopoe was forbidden to the Jews as food, the word 

 translated " Lapwing " in the Bible really meaning the 

 Hoopoe ; and when the ill-flavoured nest of the bird, and 

 the dirty surroundings among which it often seeks its 

 food are taken into consideration, the prohibition does 

 not seem unreasonable. 



THE SWIFTS. 



These birds are usually confounded with Swallows both 

 by Europeans and natives, and as they resemble them in 

 form, and in their habits of seeking their insect food 

 on the wing and resorting to buildings for nesting purposes, 

 the error is natural. But examination of the anatomy 

 of the birds has shown that while the Swallows are not to 

 be separated from the ordinary Passerine birds, the Swifts 

 present so many differences that they cannot be classed 

 in that order at all. 



Externally, Swifts may be distinguished from Swallows 

 by the fact that they have only ten tail feathers instead of 



