THE HOOPOES. 5) 
warmth of attachment often discovers itself, even before she is capable of 
becoming a mother, which might be supposed to precede, in the order of 
nature, the maternal solicitude, as thus finely exemplified by Buffon :— 
“A young hen bird,” says he, “was brought to me in the month of May, 
which was not able to feed without assistance. I caused ber to be educated, 
and she was hardly fledged, when I received from another place a nest of 
three or four unfledged Skylarks. She took a strong liking to these new- 
comers, which were scarcely younger than herself; she tended them night 
and day, cherished them beneath her wings, and fed them with her bill. 
Nothing could interrupt her tender offices. If the young ones were torn 
from her, she flew to them as soon as she was liberated, and would not think 
of effecting her own escape, which she might have done a hundred times. 
Her affection grew upon her; she neglected food and drink; she now re- 
quired the same support as her adopted offsprings, and expired at last, con- 
sumed with maternal anxiety. None of the young ones survived her. They 
died one after another, so essential were her cares, which were equally tender 
and judicious.” 
Famity Uruprip©. Tue Hoorogs. 
Tn this family are two sub-families, thus distinguished : — 
strongly incurved; head without crest. . . . IRRISORINUE. 
almost straight; head with crest... .. .UPUPINA. 
UPUPIDZ. Claw of hallux (hind toe). . } 
Gray says of the genus Upupa, the typical genus of the Upupine, — 
“The species that compose this genus are found in Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. They are migratory, and prefer low and moist situations that 
border woods and forests: it is in such places that they search for insects 
and worms. They also seek for their food on the trunks of trees, and espe- 
cially among the foliage for caterpillars ; and they may sometimes be observed 
hanging from a branch while reaching one of them from a leaf. Even 
manure is examined by these birds for the insects that it contains. The nest 
is generally placed in holes of decayed trees, and occasionally in crevices of 
walls and rocks. The material employed consists of dry grass, and the 
nest is usually lined with feathers, or other soft articles, internally. The 
female deposits four or five eggs.” 
The same author says of Jrrisor, the type of the Lrrisorine, — 
“The species of this genus are found throughout the entire continent of 
Africa. They frequent the tall trees, creeping among the branches while in 
search of their food, which consists almost entirely of insects and_ their 
larve ; they also feed on the fruits of the fig trees when ripe; and should 
they, while thus engaged, be disturbed, they commence uttering a loud, 
chattering noise. It is further stated that they congregate in small flocks, 
and roost in the holes of trees.” 
NO. XI 54 
