Common Hoopoe
Parque, Playa de las Américas, Tenerife
What3Words
///fail.talents.occulted
The Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is an exotic-looking bird found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, best known for its "crown" of feathers and unique defense mechanisms.
Appearance and Identification
Distinctive Crest:
It possesses a tall, fan-like crest of cinnamon feathers tipped with black. This crest is typically held closed but is dramatically raised when the bird is excited or has just landed.
Coloration:
Its body is a pinkish-brown or cinnamon color, contrasting sharply with broad, rounded wings and a tail barred with black and white "zebra" stripes.
Long Bill:
It has a long, slender, down-curved bill used for probing soft soil and leaf litter for food.
Butterfly Flight:
Its flight is highly characteristic, featuring an erratic, undulating movement with deep wingbeats that make it resemble a giant butterfly.
Behavior and Diet
Diet:
Primarily insectivorous, it eats larvae, beetles, crickets, and mole crickets. It also occasionally takes small reptiles, frogs, and berries.
Unique Call:
Its name is onomatopoeic, derived from its soft, trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop" or "hoo-poo-poo" call.
Defense Mechanism:
To deter predators, nesting females and chicks produce a foul-smelling liquid from an oil gland that smells like rotting meat. Older chicks can also squirt feces at intruders to defend the nest.
Habitat and Conservation
Range:
It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Northern populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.
Nesting:
Hoopoes are cavity nesters, using holes in trees, walls, cliffs, or abandoned buildings.
Status:
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though populations are declining in Western Europe due to habitat loss and pesticide use.
Cultural Significance
National Symbol:
It is the National Bird of Israel (selected in 2008).
Religious & Mythological:
The hoopoe is mentioned in the Quran as a messenger for Prophet Solomon and appears in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Persian literature as a symbol of wisdom or virtue.
Common Hoopoe
Parque, Playa de las Américas, Tenerife
What3Words
///fail.talents.occulted
The Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is an exotic-looking bird found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, best known for its "crown" of feathers and unique defense mechanisms.
Appearance and Identification
Distinctive Crest:
It possesses a tall, fan-like crest of cinnamon feathers tipped with black. This crest is typically held closed but is dramatically raised when the bird is excited or has just landed.
Coloration:
Its body is a pinkish-brown or cinnamon color, contrasting sharply with broad, rounded wings and a tail barred with black and white "zebra" stripes.
Long Bill:
It has a long, slender, down-curved bill used for probing soft soil and leaf litter for food.
Butterfly Flight:
Its flight is highly characteristic, featuring an erratic, undulating movement with deep wingbeats that make it resemble a giant butterfly.
Behavior and Diet
Diet:
Primarily insectivorous, it eats larvae, beetles, crickets, and mole crickets. It also occasionally takes small reptiles, frogs, and berries.
Unique Call:
Its name is onomatopoeic, derived from its soft, trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop" or "hoo-poo-poo" call.
Defense Mechanism:
To deter predators, nesting females and chicks produce a foul-smelling liquid from an oil gland that smells like rotting meat. Older chicks can also squirt feces at intruders to defend the nest.
Habitat and Conservation
Range:
It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Northern populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.
Nesting:
Hoopoes are cavity nesters, using holes in trees, walls, cliffs, or abandoned buildings.
Status:
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though populations are declining in Western Europe due to habitat loss and pesticide use.
Cultural Significance
National Symbol:
It is the National Bird of Israel (selected in 2008).
Religious & Mythological:
The hoopoe is mentioned in the Quran as a messenger for Prophet Solomon and appears in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Persian literature as a symbol of wisdom or virtue.