2 
HOOPOE. 
next follow. After busily investigating the rough surface of the soil for about a quarter of an hour or 
twenty minutes, elevating and drooping the feathers of his crest from time to time he rose at last on 
wino- and came with a slow and deliberate flight straight towards the furze behind wliieh \\as 
concealed, disappearing from sight as he darted down on the opposite side of the bush. Silently making 
my way round with the utmost caution not to break a twig or cause a sound, he sprung up from the 
long rough grass surrounding the furze, within four or five yards, and offering an easy chance as he 
croLd the open, in the attempt to regain his old quarters on the low ground, fell on the unbroken 
downs at the distance of about five-and-twenty yards, his feathers unrutfled by a single shot-mark. 
The colours of the soft parts of this specimen, which proved to be a fine male in very handsome 
plumage, were as follows : — Iris dark hazel. Upper mandible black at the point and dark hoin-tint towards 
the base ; lower mandible horn-colour at the point and a pale flesh hue towards the base. Legs and toes a 
dark horn-tint. The stomach of the wanderer, who had probably but lately reached our shores, contained 
scarcely any nourishment — a few small beetles, a spider or two, and some other tiny insects being all 
that was found on an examination being made. 
