Hooror. ANISODACTYLI. UPUPA. 119 
which are indigenous, (and which inhabit the towns in nume- 
rous flocks), but frequent, during their stay, remote and so- 
litary places. ‘The Hoopoe frequents low and moist situa- 
tions, in the neighbourhoood of woods or thickets, and is 
mostly engaged upon the ground in hunting after its food, 
viz. insects and worms.—Of the former, those of the coleop- Food. 
terous order are its chief favourites. It may sometimes be 
seen hanging from the branches of trees, in search of the in- 
sects that chiefly dwell on the under sides of the foliage.—It ost, Ke. 
builds in the holes of decayed trees, but when these situa- 
tions cannot be obtained, will make use of the crevices of 
walls and rocks. ‘The nest is formed: of dry grass, lined 
with feathers, or other soft materials; and it lays four or five 
eggs, of a greyish-white, spotted with hair-brown. The nest 
becomes very fetid, from the accumulation of remains of the 
insects with which it feeds its young, and probably also from 
the droppings of the latter. 
- Piate 40. Fig. 2. Natural size. 
Bill black, flesh-red towards the base. Irides umber- General 
descrip- 
brown. Crest composed of two rows of elongated fea- tion. 
thers, orange-brown, tipped with black, which it can 
erect or depress at pleasure. 
Head, neck, and breast of a purplish red colour. Upper 
part of the back of a pale brocoli-brown, tinged with 
grey; the lower part banded with black and white. 
Wings black, with five white bands. ‘Tail black, with 
a large V-shaped white bar, under parts white, the 
flanks having a few longitudinal brown streaks. Legs 
brown. 
The Female differs in having the crest shorter, and the 
_ tints of her plumage not so bright as those of the Male 
bird. 
