countries, such as England, they are very rare, 
and never breed. 
Frisch mentions, that they can creep on the 
bark of trees like the woodpeckers ; wliich is 
perfeclly consistent wirh analogy, for thev also 
breed in the hollow trunks, as well as in the 
holes of walls, on the dust usually collected at 
the bottom of such cavities. It has been often 
asserted, that the female besmears her nest with 
excrements of the wolf, of the fox, of the cow, 
and of all sorts of animals, not excepting hu- 
man ordure ; and that she does this with the 
view to cefcnd her voung by the loathsome 
stench. But the fact, BufFon asserts, is no 
more true than the intention ; for the Hoopoe 
never plasters the mouth of her nest like the 
Nuthatch. At the same time, the nest, he al- 
lows, is indeed very dlrtv and offensive ; a ne- 
cessary consequence ot it's great depth, which 
is often from twelve to even eigiiteen inclies. 
The voung cannot throw out their excrements ; 
and, therefore, grovel a long time among tilth : 
whence, undoubtedly, arose the proverb — " As 
nasty as a Hoopoe.'^ But this filthiness of the 
bird only prevails while it's young are rearing ; 
for, 
