ground with a very quick step. M. Necker, in his Memoir
on the Birds of Geneva, says, Hoopoes fight desperately, and
leave the ground covered with their feathers.
A favourite locality for the Hoopoe on the Continent has
thus been described by~a correspondent in the Magazine of
Natural History :— “ On the Bordeaux side of the Garonne,
and near the city, are large spaces of marshy ground, intersected
by broad ditches and creeks , terminating in the river ';
where from the advantage derived from the water, many poplars
and'willows are planted for the sake of the twigs, which
are much used for tying vines. These trees being topped at
about ten or twelve feet from the ground, so as to induce
them to sprout much, become very thick, and, in the .course
of a few years, gradually decaying at the centre, are attacked
by numerous insects, particularly thé je t ant, Formica fuligi-
nosa. In these retired places, which are frequented only by
a few cowherds and country people, the Hoopoe, which is a
very shy bird, may be frequently observed examining the
rotten wood, and feeding on the insects with which it abounds.
The Hoopoe flies low and seldom, unless when disturbed, its
food being so abundant as to-require little search. I f breeds
in a hollow willow about the end of May. The young come
out in June-; but I could not ascertain the exact time required
for hatching.”
Mr. Gould mentions that a specimen was shot by J . Sullivan,
Esq. on the 28th of September, 1882, in his own pleasure
grounds at Broom House, Fulham, only four miles west
from London. Further west it has been obtained in Wiltshire
and Hampshire. In Dorsetshire it has been frequently
met with. One specimen has been shot by my friend William
Thompson, in his garden at Hamworthy, near Poole, in
the latter part of September 1827.' The injury this bird
received from the gun was slight, and on being approached it
drew back the head, erected its crest, and lowered its wines,
making a show of great resistance, but ultimately allowed
itself to? be taken up withqut attempting to inflict any wound.
This part of out coast appears to be one of the most favourite
haunts^of the Hoopoe in this country. In the collection of
the Rev. Mr. Barclay at Swanage, which I had the pleasure
of seeing in the autumn of-1827, were three Hoopoes, all
killed in that, vicinity. In Devonshire, the frequent occurrence
of this bird has been recorded by Montagu and Dr. E.
Moore, In his Cornish Fauna, Mr. Couch says, “ So many
specimens have been met with, as to justify me in saying that
it is not uncommon in Cornwall. The periods of their visit
are about the vernal and autumnal equinox, as if performing a
regular migration; and for several years I have noticed the
occurrence of one or more specimens within a very limited
distance of the same spot, an elevated and retired farm near
the lea, Two were shot at one time, after they had seemed to
have paired ; and in the autumn of 1888 one remained near
the farm-yard for about a week, being by ho means shy. I t
seemed Jto be in moult, having but one or two feathers in the
crest.” I t has also been shot lately at Scilly. It has been
killed in south and north Wales, in Lancashire, and in Cumberland.
Mr. Thompson of Belfast informs me this bird has
occasionally been killed in different parts of Ireland.
South east, and north of London, it has been killed in
Sussex, Surrey, Kent, ^Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and
Yorkshire. The bird figured by Mr. Bewick was killed at
Bedlington on the coast- of Durham; that used by Mr. Selby
was caught near Bam borough Castle on the coast of Northumberland;
Mr. Macgillivray, of Edinburgh, mentions one
that was shot near Porto Bellp.; it has also been killed in
Ayrshire, and at Banff. This bird in summer goes as far
north as Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. Southward thence
on the European continent, it is found in Germany, is common
in Holland, France, Spain, and occurs in small flocks at