BIRDS. 235 
The bill is sharp, black, and somewhat bending. The 
head is adorned with a very beautiful, large, moveable 
crest, a kind of bright halo, the radiation of which places 
the head nearly in the centre of a golden circle. This 
pleasing ornament, which the bird sets up or lets fall at 
pleasure, is composed of a double row of feathers, reach- 
ing from the bill to the nape of the neck, which is of a 
pale red. The breast is white, with black streaks tending 
downwards ; the wings and back are varied with white 
and black cross-lines. The food of the Hoopoe consists 
chiefly of insects, with the remains of which its nest is 
sometimes so filled as to become extremely offensive. 
This beautifully crested bird is not at all common in this 
country. It is a solitary bird, two of them being seldom 
seen together. In Egypt, where Hoopoes are very com- 
mon, they are often seen in small flocks. The female is 
said to have two or three broods in the year ; she makes 
no nest, but lays five or six eggs in the hollow of a tree, 
without any sort of preparation. The name alludes to 
the note of the bird, which resembles the word " hoop" 
repeated several times in a low voice. 
Though this bird is found occasionally both in England 
and Scotland, it never breeds with us. It is common in 
Italy, where its strange startling cry is often heard, with- 
out the bird being seen, as it keeps itself concealed among 
trees. 
