UPUPA, the hoopoe, in natural history, a genus of birds of the order Pica:. Ge neric character : bill long, slender, and bending ; nostrils in the base of the bill ; tongue obtuse, entire, and triangular ; middle toe of the three toes before con nected in some degree to the outermost. There are eight species, of which the fol lowing deserve the chief notice. U. epops, common hoopoe of Europe ; this weighs three ounces, and is a foot long ; is found in Europe, Asia, and Africa ; but, even in the warmest countries of Europe, is said to be migratory. In Eng land it is by no means abundant. It is devoted to solitude, and rarely seen even in pairs. At Cairo, however, in Egypt, these birds appear in small flocks, and build on the terraces of houses fronting the bustle and noise of the street. They seldom perch on trees, confining them selves almost entirely to the ground. When agitated by strong passion, whe ther of surprise or anger, of fear or at tachment, they erect their crests and spread their tails with great fullness and intensity. They feed upon insects, and
give them to their young ; and their nests are, for the want of that cleanly management for which birds are gene rally distinguished, intolerably disgusting to the smell, in consequence of the pu trid remains of this species of food. In confinement they will live on bread and cheese, or raw meat. See Ares, Plate X1V. fig.
U. promerops is about four feet long, but the body is little larger than that of a pigeon. Its plumage is of the most va rious, beautiful, and brilliant colour, and strongly reminds the observer of the bird of paradise to which, indeed, it is considered as allied. It is !bond in New Guinea, and employed by the natives as one of the most striking personal embel lishments.