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Otago Daily Times, Issue 20870, 9 November 1929, Page 23

A - bird which, when on tie wing, might easily be mistaken for a giant butterfly, has just arrived at the London Zoo. It is a Hoopoe, an occasional visitor to Britain, though—thanks to the vandals of the countryside—so seldom seen that it is 18 years since one was exhibited in the menagerie. At the zoo i one can watch this uncommonly beautiful bird flying from branch to branch .in one of the outdoor cages of the small birdhouse. Its likeness to a butterfly is due to its fluttering flight and the fact that its wings are conspicuously striped with black and white. Directly the Hoopoe alights its magnificent crest is raised proudly. The Hoopoe—thus named on account of its cry—is of a light cinnamon hue, and is about the size of a Missel-thrush, with a long, slender bill.