THE HOOPOES. 141 



some wealthy naturalist does not import a few 

 dozen from the continent, and turn them loose, a 

 proceeding which would have the effect of completely 

 upsetting the value so absurdly placed on "genuine 

 British-killed specimens," as then no one would know 

 whether any Hoopoe appearing in England had got there 

 naturally or not, and so the makers of the pettifogging 

 "local records" would be quite at a loss. 



THE INDIAN HOOPOE (Upupa nigripennis). This very 

 closely resembles the European bird, but differs in being 

 of a warm cinnamon where the other is buff ; this colour 

 also extends further, there being no white band before 

 the black tip of the crest, and the reddish hue running 

 further down the belly. Moreover, the wing is propor- 

 tionately shorter in this species, and the bill often longer. 



This Hoopoe is a resident bird, and is found nearly all 

 over India, Burma, and Ceylon, except Sind and the West- 

 ern Punjab ; eastwards it extends to Hainan. It is not 

 found in the vicinity of Calcutta, where Hoopoes are 

 never common ; but all those I have seen there, whether 

 at large or brought into the New Market, have belonged 

 to the last species. The habits of the Indian Hoopoe 

 are the same as those of the Western bird ; in India it 

 may be found breeding from February to May, and in 

 Ceylon from December to April. As some Indian speci- 

 mens show a tinge of white on the crest, it is suspected 

 that the two species interbreed, and this is extremely- 

 likely to be the case. 



Before leaving the subject of Hoopoes, it may be as well 

 to mention a legend about these birds which I found was 



