The real home of the bird is in the sandy deserts of Northern Africa and Southern Asia. There its plumage harmonizes so well with the color of the soil that it is very difficult to see it, and it is said that when a hawk appears the hoopoe only has to flatten its body against the sand and remain perfectly still, when it is quite sure to be overlooked by its enemy. The hoopoe utters its cry in a very curious manner. First it puffs out the sides of its neck, and then it hammers its beak three times upon the ground. Each time that it does so some of the air in its throat escapes, and the result is a noise like the syllable "hoo" three times repeated. AN ARAB LEGEND The Arabs have an odd legend about the hoopoe. One day, so the quaint old story runs, King Solomon was traveling through the desert, and was much oppressed by the heat of the sun, till a large flock of hoopoes came and flew just above his head, so as to protect him from its rays. At the close of the day the grateful monarch wished to know how he could reward them for their kindness, and the foolish birds asked that crowns of gold might grow upon their heads. Their request was granted, and for a few days they admired themselves immensely, and spent most of their time in gazing at their reflections in pools of water. Very soon, however, great numbers of them were snared by the fowlers for the sake of their valuable ornaments, and it seemed as though in a short time not one would be left alive. So at last the survivors went back to King Solomon, and begged that their golden crowns might be taken away. Once more the king listened to their petition, and gave them crowns of feathers instead, and that is how hoopoes come to have crests upon their heads. KINGFISHERS One of the most beautiful birds of our country is the kingfisher, which is deep blue with white markings, and a chestnut band across the breast. Upon its head is borne a high crest, like a crown. As you walk along the banks of a stream, you may often see them darting through the air, and looking almost like streaks of colored light. And if you sit down and keep perfectly still for a little while you may, perhaps, see one of them fishing. It perches on a branch overhanging the water, and waits patiently till a fish passes underneath. Then suddenly it drops into the water like a stone, splashes about for a moment or two, and then returns to its perch with its victim struggling in its beak. The kingfisher digs a deep hole into the face of some earthen bank or cliff, and at the inner end hollows out a little cave where it lays several pure white eggs, with almost nothing but a few fishbones for a nest.