THE HOOPOE — COLE-TIT. 97 



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 

 epops), 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 larvae 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 frorri their strong-holds, 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 liiost horrible stench, which, in countries where the bird is plen- 

 tiful, has become proverbial. The odor which emanates from the 

 kingfisher is most unsavory, 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 unpleas- 

 ant peculiarity ; but as the bird lives entirely on insects, it is evi- 

 dent that some other cause must be sought. This is found in 

 certain glands near the tail, which secrete a substance that cer- 

 tainly must be useful 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 nostrjls. 



One or two of the Titmice are in the habit of making their 

 nests in similar situations. The Cole -tit {Pariis ater) will al- 

 ways take advantage of hollow places, though it is perfectly ca- 

 pable of building a nest among the dense underwood, and its 

 habitation may be mostly found in such localities. Young fir 

 plantations are favorite resorts of this bird, which finds a con- 

 genial resting-place among the low, horizontal branches. 



In Mudie's " Feathered Tribes of the British Islands," there is 



G 



