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Upupa epops
Medium sized bird, 25–32 cm long, with a 44–48 cm wingspan. It is highly distinctive, with a long, slim, slightly curved black bill, with a white-yellowish base. Very characteristic by its unique fan-shaped black-tipped crest, which may also be fanned in flight. It has a pinkish to pink-beige head and body (juvenile duller), with black and white barred back and wings, and a broad white band on the black tail. In flight it shows a broad white band on outer wings and a small white rump in the back. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats. It walks on ground, probing and picking with bill, taking grubs, insects, and worms. The call is typically a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop, which gives rise to its English, Spanish and scientific names.
Spotted on a pinetree and Holm oak forest.
Camera Model: NIKON D300. Exposure Time: 1/400sec.; f/10; ISO Speed Rating: 400. Exposure Bias: 0 EV. Focal Length: 300.0 mm.
Spotted on Mar 7, 2014
Submitted on Mar 18, 2014
4 Comments
Thanks sintija.valucka! No wonder it is not very common in Latvia. This bird like warm weather. Even Madrid and North Spain is too cold for them in winter! I guess that with global warming it will be increasingly more common in Latvia
I've seen one once, they are so great (but not so common in my country - Latvia)! :)
Wonderful spotting! :)
By the way this is Latvia's Bird of the Year 2014 :))
Thanks Luis, they are quite common here in Spain, during the summer!
Great find Arlanda! I've only seen them in photos.