THE HOOPOE. 79 



of wild excitement, darts at the intruder, and pecks so fiercely 

 with its powerful beak, that it can drive away any ordinary foe. 

 The bite which the Nuthatch can inflict is of no trifling force ; 

 for the beak is strong enough to crack the shell of any nut, and 

 when employed on softer substances, is very apt to leave behind 

 it a tangible mark of its powers. 



The nest of the Nuthatch is hardly deserving of the name, for 

 it merely consists of a few dried leaves, intermingled with little 

 bits of decaying wood. 



Another of these semi-burrowing birds is the Hoopoe (Upupa 

 epaps), one of the handsomest, though not the most brilliant, of 

 English birds. It is now very rare in this country, and, from all 

 appearances, is unlikely to become plentiful. 



The Hoopoe makes its nest in some decaying tree, and often 

 prepares the hollow for its nest, though without intending to do 

 so. The food of the bird consists chiefly of insects, in various 

 stages of existence, most of which are dug by the long bill from 

 the decayed wood wherein they burrow. The larvjE of many 

 beetles exist in such localities, and as they are mostly fat and 

 plump, they afford abundant nourishment to their destroyer. 

 In dislodging these larvae from their strongholds, the Hoopoe not 

 only enlarges the hollow, but flings a quantity of small chips of 

 the spongy wood to the bottom of the cavity. The nest is made 

 of grass, feathers, and similar materials, and in many cases is 

 placed upon the layer of dried fragments. 



The cavity in which the Hoopoe makes its nest is notable for 

 a most horrible stench, which, in countries where the bird is 

 plentiful, has become proverbial. The odour which emanates 

 from the kingfisher is most unsavoury, but it does not possess 

 the pungent offensiveness which distinguishes that of the Hoopoe. 

 The food of the Hoopoe was long considered to be the cause of 

 this unpleasant peculiarity; but as the bird lives entirely on 

 insects, it is evident that some other cause must be soiight. 

 This is found in certain glands near the tail, which secrete a 

 substance that certainly must be iiseful to the bird in some 

 mysterious way, just as the odorous secretion of the musk-deer 

 must be beneficial to the animal ; but it possesses a singularly 

 offensive smell, and renders the nest unendurable to human 

 nostrils. 



