Hoopoes.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



351 



to its peculiar uses. It has been suggested as a 

 reason for its development, that it perhaps con- 

 stitutes a necessary weapon of defence against mon- 

 keys, and other animals which may seek to assail 

 its nest: while some have supposed that it might 

 be employed in dragging snakes and lizards from 

 their lurking-places, "or young birds and eggs from 

 the recesses of the trunks of aged trees. The 

 tongue is short, triangular, and smooth. For an 

 account of the anatomy of the hornbill, see ' Pro- 

 ceedings of the Zoological Society,' 1833, p. 102, et 

 seq. 



1573. — The Rhinoceros Hornbill 



(Buceros Rhinoceros). This species is a native of 

 India and the Indian Islands, and is to be seen in 

 most museums, specimens being often brought to 

 Europe. Though there may be some variety from 

 age and circumstances, the bill will be generally 

 found to be about ten inches long and of a yel- 

 lowish-white ; the upper mandible red at the base, 

 the lower black. The horn, or casque, varied with 

 black and white. The body black, of a dirty white 

 below and posteriorly; tail about twelve inches, 

 the feathers white at the base and tip, black in the 

 middle ; feet and claws obscure grey. The feathers 

 of the cheeks and back of the neck are loose and 

 hair-like. 



1574. — The Concave Hornbill 



{Buceros cavatns). This large species is a native 

 of India, the Himalaya range, Java, and most of 

 the islands in the Indian Archipelago. It is figured 

 in the ' Century ' by Mr. Gould, who thus describes 

 it ■ — "Throat, ear-coverts, circle round the eye, and 

 a narrow band at the occipital edge of the protu- 

 berance of the beak, black ; neck dirty straw- 

 colour, the feathers of the back of the neck elon- 

 gated ; the body and wings black, greater coverts 

 and quill -feathers tipped with white ; thighs, upper 

 and under tail-coverts, white, as is the tail also, 

 with the exception of a broad black band about 

 three inches from the tip ; beak yellowish, inclining 

 to scarlet at the tip : under mandible black at the 

 base ; tarsi black. The food of the Buceros cava- 

 tus, like that of other hornbills, consists of fruits, 

 berries, flesh, and even carrion ; in short, it may be 

 considered as strictly omnivorous." (Gould.) 



We may add that this and the other species have 

 the habit" of throwing their food up in the air with 

 a jerk, and dexterously catching it, when they 

 swallow it at once. 



Family UPUPID^l (HOOPOES). 



This limited family group has been a sort of stum- 

 bling-block to ornithologists, who have differed 

 widely as to its affinities, and consequently its 

 situation in a natural arrangement. Linnaeus placed 

 the Hoopoe near the Bee-eaters ; Meyer, between the 

 Orioles and Cuckoos ; Vieillot, Vigors, and Swainson, 

 in the same group with the Promerops ; the Prince 

 of Canino assigns it a place between the Kingfisher 

 and Humming-birds. For ourselves we are strongly 

 inclined to believe that the Hoopoe is very nearly 

 allied to the great birds just noticed, viz., the 

 Hornbills, and such, we believe, is the opinion of 

 Mr. Gould. There is much in form, food, and 

 habits in which they agree ; the beak in the Hoopoe, 

 it is true, is slender and elongated, arched, triangular, 

 and destitute of appendages, but it is used in the 

 same manner and for the same purposes as that of 

 the Hornbill, namely, for seizing food, as insects, 

 squeezing them to death, and throwing them with a 

 jerk into the throat. The bill, moreover, is short and 

 nearly straight, with a cylindrical point in the young, 

 and gradually acquires its full development, which 

 is in fact that of horn continued in extension far 

 beyond the true osseous mandibles. (See Fig. 1575, 

 Head of Hoopoe.) The tongue is short and trique- 

 tral , the feet, from the increased length of the hind 

 toe and size of the nail, are better adapted for ter- 

 restrial progression, but the middle and outer toes 

 are united as far as the first joint. In the general 

 contour, and in the arrangement of the markings of 

 the plumage, we may detect a resemblance to the 

 Hornbills, as also in their mode of uidification, 

 namely, in the hollows of decayed trees. Without, 

 however, insisting on this point, or entering into a 

 disquisition foreign to our present design, let us at 

 once proceed to give some account of the economy 

 of the Hoopoes, of which three species are recog- 

 nised — ne African, another Indian, a third almost 

 universally spread, being found in Europe, India, 

 China, and other parts of Asia, and in Africa. 



1576, 1577, 1578.— The Hoopoe 



( Upupa Epops, Linn.). This is the, e-n-o^ (Epops) of 

 the Greeks (Aristot., 'Hist. Anim.,' i. 1; ix. 11 ; ix. 

 15, 49 ; Aristoph., 'Birds,' 228, et seq. ; Pausanias, 

 x. 4) ; Upupa and Epops of the ancient Italians 

 (Pliny, 'Nat. Hist.,' x. 29 ; xxx. G ; Ovid, ' Metam., 



vi.). It is the Buba, Upega, Gallo del Paradiso, 

 Galleto de magio, Pubula, Bubbola, Pupita, and 

 Upupa of the modern Italians ; Hupe, Huppe, Put- 

 put, Huput, and Lupoge of the French ; el Abubilla 

 of the Spanish; Wiedehopf of the Germans; de 

 Hoppe of the Netherlanders; Hazfogel of the 

 Swedes; Her-fugl of the Danes ; Smerda Kaura of 

 Scopoli: Dung-bird and Floopoe of the modern 

 British ; y Goppog of the ancient British. 



The Hoopoe is a bird of migratory habits, extend- 

 ing as far north in the summer as Denmark, Sweden, 

 and Russia. It is common in many parts of 

 Germany, Holland, France, and Spain; but is, com- 

 paratively speaking, a rare visitor to our island, 

 though instances have been known of its having 

 bred in this country, and more undoubtedly would 

 occur, did not the appearance of a pair of these 

 birds call up incessant attempts at their destruction. 

 Gil bert White, in his ' History of Selborne' (letter xi.), 

 instances a pair of Hoopoes which one summer 

 visited his premises, frequenting for some weeks an 

 ornamented piece of ground adjoining the garden. 

 " They used to march about in a stately manner, 

 feeding in the walks many times in the day, and 

 seemed disposed to breed in my outlet, but were 

 frightened and persecuted by idle boys, who would 

 never let them be at rest." The Hoopoe affects 

 moist and low situations, in the neighbourhood of 

 woods and thickets, where it finds suitable food. 



Pliny has noticed this species as " obscaena 

 pastu avis ;" and Pennant, after stating that, it breeds 

 in hollow trees, and feeds on insects, adds that the 

 ancients believed that it made its nest of the most 

 disgusting materials ; so far is certain, that its hole 

 is excessively foetid from the tainted food it brings 

 to its youna:. 



In the ' Magazine of Natural History ' it is stated 

 that on the Bordeaux side of the Garonne and near 

 the city are large spaces of marshy ground inter- 

 sected by broad ditches and creeks terminating in 

 the river, where poplars and willows are planted 

 for the sake of their twigs used for tying the vines. 

 These trees being topped become very stout, and as 

 they decay at the centre in a few years, they are 

 attacked by numerous insects, particularly the 

 Formica fuliginosa. Here the Hoopoes are fre- 

 quently seen examining the rotten wood, and feed- 

 ing on the insects which abound therein. It is 

 further remarked, that the Hoopoe flies low, and 

 seldom, unless disturbed, its food being so abundant 

 as to require but little search, and that it breeds in 

 a hollow willow about the end of May, the young 

 coming out in June. 



Indeed they breed, generally, in hollow trees, 

 and, notwithstanding the accounts of the disgust- 

 ing materials which they were said to use, noticed 

 by Aristotle and other writers, form a nest of a 

 few dried grass-stalks and feathers, laying eggs 

 varying from four to seven in number, of a pale 

 lavender-grey, about an inch and a half long and 

 about eight lines broad. 



In a state of nature the Hoopoe is much upon 

 the ground during the day, generally in moist situa- 

 tions, where it may meet with its insect food. 

 Bechstein gives the following interesting account, 

 written by M. von Schauroth, in his ' Cage-Birds:' 

 " With great care and attention I was able last 

 summer to rear two young hoopoes, taken from a 

 nest which was placed at the top of an oak-tree. 

 These little birds followed me everywhere, and 

 when they heard me at a distance, showed their joy 

 by a particular chirping, jumped into the air, or, as 

 soon as I was seated, climbed upon my clothes, 

 particularly when giving them their food from a 

 pan of milk, the cream of which they swallowed 

 greedily ; they climbed higher and higher, till at 

 last they perched on my shoulders, and sometimes 

 on my head, caressing me very affectionately : not- 

 withstanding this, I had only to speak a word to rid 

 myself of their company ; they would then immedi- 

 ately retire to the stove. Generally, they would 

 observe my eyes to discover what my temper might 

 be, that they might act accordingly. I fed them 

 like the nightingales, or with the universal paste, 

 to which I sometimes added insects : they would 

 never touch earth-worms, but were very fond of 

 beetles and May-bugs : these they first killed, and 

 then beat them with their beak into a kind of 

 oblong ball ; when this was done, they threw it 

 into the air, that they might catch it and swallow 

 it lengthwise ; if it fell across the throat, they were 

 obliged to begin again. Instead of bathing, they 

 roll in the sand. I took them one day into a neigh- 

 bouring field, that they might catch insects "for 

 themselves, and had then an opportunity of re- 

 marking their innate fear of birds of prey, and their 

 instinct under it. As soon as they perceived a 

 raven, or even a pigeon, they were on their bellies 

 in the twinkling of an eye, their wings stretched 

 out by the side of their head, so that the large 

 quill-feathers touched ; they were thus surrounded 

 by a sort of crown, formed by the feathers of the 

 tail and wings, the head leaning on the back with 



the bill pointing upwards ; in this curious posture 

 they might be taken for an old rag. As soon as the 

 bird which frightened them was gone, they jumped 

 up immediately, uttering cries of joy. They were 

 very fond of lying in the sun ; they showed their 

 content by repeating in a quivering tone, vec, vec, 

 vec; when angry, their notes are harsh, and the 

 male, which is known by its colour being redder, 

 cries hoop, hoop. The female had the trick of 

 dragging its food about the room : by this means it 

 was covered with small feathers and other rubbish, 

 which by degrees formed into an indigestible ball 

 in its stomach, about the size of a nut, of which it 

 died. The male lived through the winter ; but not 

 quitting the heated stove, its beak became so dry 

 that the two parts separated, and remained more 

 than an inch apart : thus it died miserably." 



Mr. Yarrell has recorded the manners of a Hoo- 

 poe in the possession of Mr. Bartlett, the preserver 

 of birds, in Museum Street. "This bird," says Mr. 

 Yarrell, "is quite tame, and, when unexcited, the 

 high crest falls flat over the top of the head and co- 

 vers the occiput ; it takes a meal-worm from the 

 hand very readily, nibbles and pinches it between 

 the ends of the mandibles, then putting it on the 

 ground, strikes it several blows with the point of tho 

 beak; when the insect is apparently dead, or dis- 

 abled, it is again taken up, and by a particular mo- 

 tion of the head, which is thrown backward, and the 

 beak open, the meal-worm drops into the gape of 

 the mouth and is swallowed, The call for another 

 is a sharp note ; but it also utters at times a sound 

 closely resembling the word hoop, hoop, hoop, but 

 breathed out so softly, yet rapidly, as to remind the 

 hearer of the note of the dove. This bird constantly 

 rubs himself in the sand with which the bottom of 

 his large cage is supplied, dusting himself like the 

 larks, but takes great care to shake off any sand or 

 gravel that may adhere to his food, which is raw 

 meat, chopped, and boiled egg. He hides superflu- 

 ous food, and resorts to his hoard when hungry. 

 When allowed to come out of his cage, he takes 

 short flights about the room ; but would not be con- 

 sidered a bird of great, power upon the wing ; yet the 

 Bishop of Norwich has recorded that 'one ap- 

 proached a vessel in the middle of the Atlantic, and 

 kept company with it a good way, but did not 

 settle on board, which it probably would have done 

 had it been tired.' 



"At the moment of settling on the floor of the 

 room, Mr. Barllett's bird bends the head downwards 

 till the point of the beak touches the floor, after 

 which, as well as occasionally at other times, the 

 Jong feathers forming the crest are alternately ele- 

 vated and depressed in a slow and graceful manner, 

 the bird assuming an appearance of great vivacity, 

 running on the ground with a very quick step. M. 

 Necker, in his ' Memoir on the Birds of Geneva,' 

 says hoopoes fight desperately, and leave the ground 

 covered with their feathers." (' British Birds.') 



The country-people of Sweden look on the ap- 

 pearance of this bird as a presage of war — 



' Facies armata videtur :'* 



and formerly the vulgar in our country esteemed it 

 a forerunner of some calamity. . . The Turks call it 

 Tir Chaous, or the messenger-bird, from the resem- 

 blance its crest, has to the plumes worn by the 

 Chaous, or Turkish couriers. 



The male Hoopoe in full plumage may be thus 

 described : — Head beautifully crested ; two parallel 

 rows of long feathers form an arched crest, extend- 

 ing from the base of the beak to the occiput ; these 

 feathers are of a ruddy buff colour, terminated with 

 black: head, neck, and breast vinous buff; upper 

 part of the back vinous grey ; on the back a large 

 transversal band; wings and tail black; on the 

 wings are five transversal bands of yellowish-white, 

 and on the tail is a very large white band, about the 

 middle of the feathers ; at about three-fourths of the 

 length of the quills is a large white band ; abdomen 

 white, with some longitudinal spots on the thighs; 

 bill flesh-colour at its base and black towards the 

 point ; feet and iris brown. Length twelve inches 

 and a half. Tail-feathers only ten in number. 



Female less than the male, her crest shorter, and 

 the tints of her plumage less vivid. 



The young when they leave the nest have the bill 

 short, nearly straight, and slightly cylindrical to- 

 wards the point ; the feathers of the crest short and 

 often terminated with black, without the white 

 spot which is immediately below it* in the adult ; 

 the white band of the tail nearer to the rump ; the 

 plumage washed, as it were, with ash-colour ; the 

 bands on the wings less distinct and more yellowish, 

 and a greater quantity of longitudinal spots upon 

 the belly and thighs. 



* Ovid well describes the hoopoe, into which, according to the fable , 

 Tereus was transformed {Aletam., lib. vi.) : — 



" Tereus 

 Vertilur in volucrem ; cui stant in vertice cristae : 

 Prominet immodicum pro long;! cuspide rostrum, 

 Nomen Epops volucri : i'acies armata videtur." 



