CHAPTER III. 
THE HOOPOE 
(JJpupa epops ). 
“ He flaps his wings, erects his spotted crest; 
His flaming eyes dart forth a piercing ray; 
He swells the lovely plumage of his breast, 
And glares a wonder of the orient day.” 
The Hoopoe—one of our brightest-coloured birds, as 
well as one of the most quaint—is occasionally seen on 
our rich pasture-lands and commons, especially where 
cow-dung is abundant. In many places it is a regular 
visitant; and though on the whole rather a rare bird in 
Germany, yet it is very common in Southern Europe. 
That the Hoopoe is the victim of slander may readily be 
gathered from its numerous nick-names,* many of which 
are totally undeserved, though it must at the same time 
be allowed that it is not the sweetest bird that flies, as 
far as smell is concerned, however much our poet Welcker 
may have to say to the contrary:— 
“ An mir beschwerlicher Geruch ?— 
Den liigt mir an des Volkes Spruch.” 
* The following is a translation of some of the names which Dr. Brehm here 
alludes to:—“ Stink-fowl, Cuckoo’s-sexton, Cuckoo’s-lad, Stink-bird, Dung-bird, 
Dung-dealer, Muck-hen,” &c.— W, J, 
