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Hoopoe

Upupa epops

Description:

The Hoopoe is an exotic looking bird that is the size of a Mistle thrush. It has a pinkish-brown body, striking black and white wings, a long black down curved bill, and a long pinkish-brown crest which it raises when excited. It walks and runs on its short legs with a quail-like but somewhat waddling gait. When digging, the crest is depressed and projects in a point behind the head suggestive ol a miniature pickaxe. When the bird is alarmed or excited, the crest is quickly erected and opened lanwise. It flies off in an undulating, undecided sort of way to resettle at some distance whereupon the crest is again raised. The call is a suit and musical, but penetrating, hoo-po, or hoo-po-po repeated several times and often intermittently for over 10 minutes at a stretch. When calling from a branch the bird lowers and bobs its head so that the bill lies almost flat against the breast, the tail at the same time being depressed and turned in under the perch as if in an effort to make both ends meet. At other times the head is jerked forward at each successive call as if barking, and the crest raised and lowered from time to time. Besides this call, it has a variety of harsh subdued caws and wheezy chuckles.

Habitat:

The Hoopoe is a bird of open country, plains as well as hills up to about 5,000 feeT. It is fond of lawns, gardens and groves in and about towns and villages. Scattered pairs and family parties of four or live birds are usually met with, feeding exclusively on the ground, probing into the soil and amongst the fallen leaves with bill partly open like forceps. Hoopoes are widespread in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.

Notes:

Spotted here during the courtship display where the male chases the female and later, courtship feeding begins. Its diet consists of insects, grubs and pupa, it is beneficial to agriculture bv virtue of the vast numbers of insect pests it destroys

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16 Comments

Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

No problem Daniele - appreciate the guidance

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

You're welcome Stephen. Your bird photography is amazing :-)

Just a king reminder, as per our guidelines, to provide an actual habitat description under the Habitat field, rather than generic information. From our FAQ page:
"Habitat: Please state the actual habitat where you photographed the spotting - this information can then be used to track changes in habitat, such as those caused by human intervention or habitat destruction. Again, it is not necessary to state published habitat information here, this can be referenced in the 'reference links' box".
Thanks in advance!

Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

Thank you Neil - appreciate the positive comments

triggsturner
triggsturner 5 years ago

Congrats on your sotd drstephen.

Neil Ross
Neil Ross 5 years ago

I can't look at these birds without smiling. They are amazing! Congratulations, drstephen, on your much deserved SOTD. I've enjoyed reading your notes too.

Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

Thank you all so much. I am honoured that this is SOTD

Fantastic series Stephen,very good notes,beautiful,congrats on te well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Congratulation Stephen, your beautiful hoopoe series is our Spotting of the Day!

"This beautiful action shot of a Hoopoe (Upupa epops) marks the beginning of series documenting courtship feeding in our Spotting of the Day. Make sure to check it out! Courtship feeding in birds may begin when a mating pair is getting established, but can also continue once egg incubation has started.
To learn more about courtship feeding: https://buff.ly/2l5EtXN :

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Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

Thank you - it was a special moment.

triggsturner
triggsturner 5 years ago

Beautiful series

Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

Thank you Maria

Maria dB
Maria dB 5 years ago

What a beautiful behavioral series!

Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

Wow! Thank you

AshleyT
AshleyT 5 years ago

Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!

Stephen Wain
Stephen Wain 5 years ago

Thank you Neil - it was a magical moment to watch.

Neil Ross
Neil Ross 5 years ago

Great spotting. Wonderful images of these two beautiful birds.

Stephen Wain
Spotted by
Stephen Wain

Comunitat Valenciana, Spain

Spotted on Mar 17, 2018
Submitted on Jun 7, 2018

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