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the dirty condition of the bird and the young, and would fully justify the name of " Stink-bird," 

 by which it is known in several parts of the Continent. Von Oken states that the smell arises 

 from the dung of the nestlings not being removed, and from cow-dung being used in the 

 construction of the nest. Gloger says the same. Naumann denies the above, and states that the 

 birds carry away the droppings of the young. 



The Hoopoe nests generally in hollow trees, choosing such as have holes where the wood is 

 dead-rotten ; and on this soft rotten wood it deposits its eggs, without making any nest whatever, 

 unless a stray piece of grass or two or a few pieces of dry cow-dung may be thus termed. When 

 the young are hatched they remain in a state of filth, which causes an unbearable stench, until 

 ready to leave the nest ; and the smell does not leave the young birds until several weeks after 

 they have deserted their unsavoury abode. Lord Lilford sends us the following account : — " The 

 Hoopoe seems, as a rule, to prefer a hole in a hollow ash or willow for nesting in ; but I have 

 seen a nest on the ground under a large stone, others in holes on the sunny side of mud or brick 

 walls, one in a fissure of limestone rock, and one in a small cavern. The eggs when first laid are 

 of a beautiful pale greenish blue, but soon become stained and dirty, so that the average Hoopoe's 

 egg is of a dirty yellow colour. In some instances I have found a good deal of nest (bents, feathers, 

 a few small twigs, &c), in one or two cases no nest at all, the eggs lying on the bare wood — but 

 in almost every instance ordure of some kind, human, bovine, or equine, and invariably an almost 

 intolerable stench. The young birds have a curious hissing note, and snap their bills when 

 startled or alarmed." Dr. Kriiper writes, it makes its nest in various places, generally in holes 

 of trees ; a curious nesting-place I may name is in a heap of stones at the edge of a wood. And 

 Mr. Swinhoe, in one of his interesting papers on Chinese birds in ' The Ibis,' has published the 

 following account : — " Many years ago a pair of Hoopoes took possession of a hole in the city- 

 wall at Amoy, near my house. The hen sat close until the young were hatched, the male 

 frequently supplying her with food during the day. Hoopoes have often bred in the holes of 

 exposed Chinese coffins ; the natives hence have an objection to them, and brand them as the 

 ' Coffin-bird.' The young, when hatched, are naked, but soon get covered with small blue quills, 

 which yield the feathers. The tail, or os coccygis, is carried at right angles, and the faeces are 

 discharged to a distance. The little creature has a short bill, and crouches forward, making a 

 hissing noise. It looks a strange compound of the young Wryneck and Kingfisher. They do 

 not stand upright till nearly fledged. Then* crests develope at once, but their bills do not 

 acquire their full length till the following year." Dr. David Scott, in a letter to Mr. Blyth, 

 dated " Umballah, Nov. 4th, 1865," says: — "This year I had two Hoopoe's (JUpivpa epopsl) 

 nests in my veranda ; and after the hens began to sit I never saw them outside at all, but the 

 two males fed them regularly inside the nest. When Colonel Tytler came down some time last 

 month, I mentioned that I was almost positive that the hen Hoopoe never left her nest during 

 the period of incubation. He said at once that this was curious, as you believed that the 

 Hoopoe was nearest in structure to a species of Buceros in which this was the case (as you 

 are aware, I have not the very slightest pretension to be an ornithologist in any way beyond 

 mere observation ; I was therefore quite ignorant of what Colonel Tytler mentioned) — as well as 

 Dr. Jerdon directly I told him. These two pairs of Hoopoes were so tame and used to seeing 

 me sitting in the veranda, that my presence never disturbed them in the least; and I twice 



