44 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



FAMILY ITPUPID^. 



ACCORDING to Jerdon, the Hoopoes are allied in structure to tlie Hornbills 

 (Birds of India, vol. i, p. 358) in which opinion he was supported bj' 

 Huxley, Forbes, Sclater, and Gadow : both Huxley and Sclater were also of 

 opinion that they were related to the Bee-eaters. They moreover possess characters 

 in common with the Kingfishers and Rollers. 



The famil}' is an extremely small one, consisting of only half a dozen species 

 fScebohviJ of which onl}^ one species occurs in Europe. The following family 

 characters are given by Jerdon : — " Bill long and slender, slightly ciirved through- 

 out ; the tips acute and entire ; nostrils small ; wings rounded ; tail moderate or 

 long, even or rounded ; tarsi short and stout ; outer toe syndactyle at the base ; 

 toes and claws strong." Jerdon, however, appears to have regarded the family 

 Irrisoridcr of Sclater which, as the name implies, contains birds with more or less 

 metallic plumage (and also differing in being crestless) as a mere Subfamily of 

 the UpupidcB flrrisorince,^ and the more typical Hoopoes he placed in a Subfamily 

 UpupincF \v\i\ch. he characterized as follows : — "Tail with ten feathers; wings long; 

 bill keeled at the base ; head with a large erectile crest." So far as I can judge 

 Seebohm seems to have been half inclined to follow him in this ; pointing out 

 that both Subfamilies agree in the " slender curved bill, rounded wings composed 

 of ten primaries, tail of ten feathers, and the hind toe and claw well developed, as 

 in the Passeridse." The Hoopoes, however, differ from all the Passeres excepting 

 the Larks in having the tarsus scaled at the back as well as in front. 



The Hoopoes are ground-feeders, the}" haunt open fields, pastures, and roads, 

 where the}^ pick up the insects or worms on which they subsist : they nest in 

 holes in trees or walls, lining their very flimsy pretence at a structure with the 

 foulest and most offensive matter, and laj'ing greenish-blue or pale bluish eggs. 



As cage-birds the Hoopoes are not difficult to tame, and it is said that they 

 have even been induced to breed in confinement ; they, however, do not show off 

 their full beauty, but give much trouble, in a cage, one of their greatest charms 

 being their butterfly-like flight ; a small aviary is most suitable for such birds, 

 where constant cleansing is unnecessary. 



