30 
Mr. J. A. Buckuill on the 
To the above there is little to be added. From mid-April 
till the end of September, whether I was in the plains 
or on Troodos, hardly a day passed without my seeing or 
hearing these birds—often in some numbers—although on 
the higher parts of the mountains they do not seem to 
alight. In early September their numbers visibly increased, 
and from the 15th to the 25th the country on the south 
coast from Limassol to Papho through which I was travelling 
on Assizes (1908) was swarming with large and small flocks. 
In the bazaars were cages crammed with live birds for sale— 
masses of vivid blue and green terror—which, poor things, 
had been caught with birdlime in the neighbourhood, and 
were destined for the pot; skeins of dead festooned the 
shops or were hawked about on strings by picturesque street 
arabs ; the skv resounded with their unmistakeable notes, 
and the graceful flight of the companies was noticeable on 
every side. Our caterer insisted on serving some for dinner, 
but we found them sweet to the taste and not particularly 
palatable. They were all just on the point of their departure 
for Africa, and on October the 1st not one remained. Of 
the vast numbers then seen I am quite satisfied that not 
five in a hundred could have been bred in the island. 
669. Upupa epops Linn. 
The Hoopoe is another common spring and autumn 
visitor, and a number of pairs no doubt annually remain to 
nest in cool and suitable places on the mountains. It 
arrives in mid-March, Guillemard recording it as earlv as 
the 10th, our first note being on the 15th. It leaves in 
September, our last record being September 20th, 1908. 
It was included in Sibthorp’s list, and Muller mentions 
three examples, one of which was obtained dining the 
breeding season. Though met with not infrequently in the 
spring by Lord Lilford and Guillemard, neither of them 
regarded it as abundant. Glaszner sent Madarasz a few 
o 
specimens taken in March and September. 
From mid-March to mid-April 1909 Mr. Baxendale, 
Horsbrugh, and 1 found the Hoopoe in considerable numbers 
