THE COMMON HOOPOE. Ill 



the Hoopoe sees the worms, it darts upon them, and pulls the 

 limed twig upon itself by the thread. 



Attractive Qualities. The Hoopoe is prized, not only for its 

 beauty, but for its amusing gestures. It is particularly re- 

 markable for a ceaseless nodding of the head, touching the 

 ground every time so that it seems to walk with a stick. The. 

 motions of its crest, wings, and tail are not less constant. I 

 have kept several for the sake of their comical gestures, which 

 they always begin the moment they are steadily looked at. 

 M. VON SCHATJEOTH writes to me respecting the Hoopoe as fol- 

 lows : ""With great trouble I succeeded in rearing two young 

 Hoopoes, which I had taken from the nest, in the top of a high 

 oak. They followed me everywhere, and when they heard me 

 at a distance, they would utter a twittering cry of joy, and 

 spring upon me. They did not fly much, yet seemed to find 

 no difficulty in so doing. If I sat down, they would climb up 

 my clothes as high as they could, especially if I was feeding 

 them from a pan of milk, the cream of which they eat greedily. 

 They did not seem satisfied till they had reached my head or 

 shoulders, when they would perch and caress me ; still it 

 needed but a word to rid me of their company, in which case 

 they would usually retire to the stove. In general they seemed 

 to gather my wishes from my eyes, according to which they 

 regulated their own proceedings. I gave them the universal 

 paste, and sometimes beetles, which are favourite morsels, but 

 never earth-worms. These insects they pierced with their 

 sharp beaks, till the feet and wing coverts were detached, and 

 the rest of the body soft ; they then threw them up in the 

 air, and caught them with open beak. If the food fell longi- 

 tudinally it was swallowed ; but if across the beak, it had to 

 be thrown up again. They do not bathe, but only roll them- 

 selves in sand. I sometimes took them with me to catch flies 

 in a neighbouring meadow, when I had the opportunity of no- 

 ticing their natural fear of birds of prey. As soon as they saw 

 a Pigeon or a Crow in the distance, they lay down on their 

 belly, spread out their wings so that the pen leathers met, and 

 the bird was surrounded with a crown, as it were, of pen and 

 tail feathers, laid the head upon the back, and pointed the 

 beak upwards. In this position the birds might have been 

 mistaken for an old rag ; and no sooner had the enemy passed 

 over, than they sprang up with cries of joy. They were very 



