UPUPA EPOPS, Linn, 
Hoopoe. 
Upupa Epops, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 37. 
vulgaris, Pall. Zoog. Ross.-Asiat., tom. i. p. 432. 
macrorhjncha, Landb. Syst. Aufz. dei’ Vog. Wurtemb. 
hifasciata, Brehm, Vdg. Deutschl., p. 215, tab. 15. fig. 2. 
The Hoopoe, a bird of great beauty, stands alone in our avifauna, unallied to any other in structure, habits, 
or economy. Its distribution is very general, it being found in Europe, Africa, India, and China. England 
is therefore not its true home, although it is frequently seen here ; France, Southern Germany, and the 
countries bordering the Mediterranean, however, are within the limits of its range. 
At Constantinople it is a bird of the market shambles, being eaten by the Turks ; and it is also one of the 
commonest of the birds of Egypt. Those which resort to Europe in summer are probably migrants from 
Morocco and North-eastern Africa, seeking a more invigorating climate in which to breed and rear their 
young ; and the few that visit England are individuals that have extended their search beyond their 
natural area. The Hoopoe generally comes to us singly, seldom in pairs, and still more rarely in greater 
numbers. The period of arrival is uncertain, but it is usually between April and September. We should 
naturally suppose that this visitor from a warm climate would not proceed very far into the high northern 
latitudes ; yet such is the case ; for many examples have occurred in Scotland, and Mr. H. E. Dresser 
informs me that, according to Pastor Sommerfeldt, it has been killed in Finland, within the arctic circle ; 
in Cunningham’s ‘ Ladakh,’ it is stated that a Hoopoe was seen on the western side of the Laiiak pass, at an 
elevation of about 16,500 feet. The occurrence of the bird in these widely distant localities shows how far 
it sometimes wanders from its native home. In India, China, and most eastern countries the Hoopoe 
is as common as in Egypt. 
Doubtless many of my readers would like to know where in England they could get a glimpse of this 
extraordinary bird, whether It is to be looked for in the open fields. In the hedgerow, or in the shrubberies ; 
this however I cannot tell them. Were It one of our regular migrants, it would follow the laws which 
govern the movements of such birds, and its arrival in any given district might be relied upon with certainty ; 
as it is, the lady who takes an airing in her carriage may see It by the roadside, the farmer may raise it in 
his clover-ley, the beachman may be startled by its appearance on the denes by the seaside, or the game- 
keeper may observe it during his daily rounds ; wherever It may appear, it is unexpected ; and a person may 
pass a long life without ever seeing one. There are counties, it Is true, where it occurs more frequently than 
in others ; these are Kent, Sussex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and usually in the month of May. In some seasons 
it appears In tolerable abundance, in others not at all. In disposition it Is as tame and fearless as in appear- 
ance it is showy and attractive. In the hedgerow, or on the wooden fence, it stands out in bold relief, con- 
spicuously different from all surrounding' birds. On the ground it moves about with ease and much 
gracefulness, erecting its beautiful crest on the least excitement, prying here and there for Insects and 
their larvae, and probing with its long forceps-like mandibles into the soft earth for a worm or a beetle. If 
disturbed, it merely tops the nearest hedge, with a flight more like that of a large butterfly than a bird, and 
settles again in the next field. Its appearance, unhappily, is only the forerunner of its death ; for probably 
every Hoopoe that visits our islands is shot ; and in many instances its stuffed skin is handed down from 
father to son as a trophy obtained In former years. 
To enumerate all the recorded instances of its occurrence in our island would answer no useful end; but I 
may mention two of its appearances near tbe metropolis, which came under my own cognizance. L. Sulivan, 
Esq., shot one In the pleasure-garden of his residence, Broom House, Fulham ; and my late excellent friend 
J. Meadows Rendel informed me that on looking out of his dressing-room window at his house in Ken- 
sington Palace Gardens one spring morning, he saw a Hoopoe running about the grass-plot, continually 
raising and depressing its crest, and that It continued to do so while he was dressing ; it must have been an 
interesting sight to one so capable of appreciating it. Disturbed by a cat or some other cause, the bird took 
flight to a neighbouring garden ; and Mr. Rendel did not see It again. 
My good friend Admiral Mitford writes from Hunmanby Hall, near Scarborough, under the date of May 14, 
1859, “We have lots of Hoopoes ; as many as nine were seen together.” 
Mr. Stevenson has given a list of the examples that have come under his notice in Norfolk and Suffolk 
during the last fourteen years, amounting to sixty-five in number; of these thirty-four occurred In April, 
twenty-five in May, one in August, and five In September. 
