The COMMON HOOPOE (_Upupa epops_) is recognisable by its elongate body;
long, slender, slightly curved, and pointed beak (which is much compressed
at its sides); and short powerful foot armed with blunt claws. The wing is
decidedly rounded; the tail of moderate size, composed of broad feathers,
and straight at its extremity. The soft, lax plumage, which is prolonged
into a crest on the top of the head, is much variegated, and almost alike
in the various species with which we are acquainted. Reddish brown of a
more or less lively hue usually predominates in its coloration, while
the wings and tail are striped with white. In the Common Hoopoe the
upper portion of the body is of reddish brown, variegated with black and
yellowish white on the middle of the back, and on the shoulder and wings.
The crest is of a deep reddish yellow, tipped with black; the under side
is bright reddish yellow, spotted with black on the sides of the belly;
the black tail is striped with white about its centre. All the colours in
the plumage of the female are duller than in that of her mate. The young
are recognisable by the comparative smallness of their crest. The eye is
deep brown, the beak greyish black, and the foot lead-grey. The length
of this species is about ten and its breadth eighteen inches. The wing
measures five, and the tail four inches.
The greater portion of Europe, Northern Africa, and Central Asia are
inhabited by these birds, which are specially numerous in the more
southern portions of those regions, and instances are recorded of
stragglers having been seen as far north as the Loffoden Isles. In some of
the central provinces of Europe they appear about the end of March, and
leave again in pairs, or small parties, at the commencement of autumn.
Such as inhabit North-eastern Africa do not migrate, but merely wander at
certain seasons over the surface of the country. In Southern Europe these
birds frequent the vineyards, but in North-eastern Africa they prefer the
immediate vicinity of towns and villages, and render great benefits to the
inhabitants by assisting the Vultures, whose proceedings we have already
described, in their revolting but most valuable labours.
Anything like sociability is unknown to this bird; each lives for its
mate or its family alone, and carries on a constant warfare with all its
neighbours. Strange to say, however, if taken young from the nest they
soon become extraordinarily tame, and learn to obey and follow those who
feed them with all the fidelity and devotion of a favourite dog. Carrion,
beetles, larvæ, caterpillars, ants, and many other kinds of insects are
devoured by the Common Hoopoe in large numbers, its long beak enabling
it to search for its victims in any hole or crevice into which they may
have crept. Large beetles are killed by repeated blows, and by crushing
them against the ground until the wings and feet have been broken off. The
morsel is then tossed aloft and dextrously caught and swallowed. The young
birds are at first unable to perform this rather difficult feat, and,
therefore, require to be fed by those who may wish to rear them. It would
appear that but little care or fastidiousness is exhibited in selecting
a spot suitable for building their nests: trees, fissures in walls,
houses, or holes in the ground are indiscriminately employed; and Pallas
mentions having found a nest containing seven young in the thorax of a
human skeleton. Dry grass, roots, and cow-dung are the materials employed
in the construction of the nest. The brood consists of from four to seven
small elongate eggs, with a dirty greenish white or yellowish grey shell,
occasionally finely spotted with white. The female alone broods, and
the young are hatched in a fortnight. Both parents assist in the task
of feeding their charge, and tend them with much affection; this care,
however, does not extend to clearing away such daily accumulations as are
usually removed, and the consequence is that before the family are fully
fledged the nest has become a mere mass of seething flies and maggots,
giving forth a stench from which the birds themselves are only freed after
having been exposed for many successive days to the pure winds of heaven.
* * * * *
The TREE HOOPOES (_Irrisor_) inhabit the forests of Africa, and are
recognisable by their slender body, long beak, short foot and wing, and
long tail. The slightly-curved beak has a ridge at its margin, and is
compressed at its sides. The powerful tarsus is much shorter than the
centre toe, which, like the rest, is armed with a strong hooked claw. The
fourth and fifth quills of the rounded wing exceed the rest in length; and
the broad tail is much graduated. Those species with which we are familiar
inhabit the forests of Central and Southern Africa, and pass their lives
exclusively upon trees.