390 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



ground, on which they run and walk with ease. They build a 

 remarkable nest of clay, straw, and dried herbage, in the form 

 of an oven, with the entrance on one side, and the interior di- 

 vided into two partitions. By their terrestrial habit they perhaps 

 tend towards the Hoopoes. 



Fam, Upupid^, Hoopoes. 



Bill long and slender, slightly curved throughout ; the tip 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. 



This family, and the reasons for placing it here, have been al- 

 ready alluded to (p. 358). They comprise a very small number of 

 birds, chiefly African, one genus extending over the greater part of 

 Europe and Asia, as well as of Africa. 



Sub-fam. Upupin^. 



Tail with ten feathers ; wings long ; bill keeled at the base ; head 

 with a large erectile crest. 



Gen. Upupa, Lin. 



Char. — Bill very long, moderately curved, compressed ; gape 

 wide ; head with a large crest ; nostrils round, slightly removed 

 from the base, destitute of any membrane; wings long, with 4th 

 quill longest ; tail even, broad, of ten feathers ; tarsus moderate, 

 with transverse scut» in front, reticulate posteriorly ; claws short, 

 that of hallux longer, somewhat straight. 



The Hoopoes are ground-feeders, and nestle in holes of trees, 

 or of walls. The few species are found in the Old World, not 

 extending to Australia. The tongue is short and heart-shaped ; 

 the mandibles are flat, not even grooved internally ; their stomach 

 is membranous ; the intestines are devoid of cceca ; and the 

 sternum is notched posteriorly, 



254. Upupa epops, Lin. 



PI. Enl., 52— Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 238— Blyth, Cat. 

 194— HoRSF., Cat. 1054— Sykes, Cat. 125 (in part)— Upupa 

 indica, Hodgs. — Hudhiid, Persian and Hind.— Kat-kuto, Sind, 



