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| Hoopoe | ||||||||||||||
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| Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758 |
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 Approximate range.
nesting resident (all year) wintering |
The Hoopoe (IPA: [ˈhuːpuː]) Upupa epops is a bird in the same order of often colourful near passerine birds as the kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers.
However, in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the Hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes as a separate order, the Upupiformes. It is the only extant member of its family, although what are now considered subspecies, such as the resident African form U. e. africana, were formerly sometimes given specific status. The long-extinct Giant Hoopoe, U. antaios, lived on the island of St Helena.
Hoopoes are widespread in Europe, Asia and North Africa, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. They migrate from all but the southernmost part of their range to the tropics in winter.
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Description
Hoopoes prefer open cultivated ground with short grass or bare patches. They spend much time on the ground hunting insects and worms[2]. They are 25–29cm long, with a 44–48cm wingspan. This black, white and pink bird is quite unmistakable, especially in its erratic flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly. The crest is erectile, but is mostly kept closed. It walks on the ground like a starling.
The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names.
The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall. Like those of its relatives, the kingfishers, the nest tends to contain copious amounts of faeces and smell very foul as a protection against predators[2]. Nesting hoopoes are capable of squirting faecal matter at intruders.
Hoopoes in popular culture
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (July 2008) |
- The Hoopoe featured in Greek mythology. Once a man, Tereus was transformed into the form of a Hoopoe. The character featured prominently in Aristophanes' Birds.
- In Islam (Quran 27:20-28) and some Jewish traditions (e.g., Midrash Mishlei), the Hoopoe is associated with King Solomon (called in Arabic Suleyman) who spoke with animals, and it tells him of the Queen of Sheba and her magnificent land.
- Hoopoes and their blood are often-called-for instruments in many medieval Western magical practices, often associated with various kinds of divination and necromancy.
- Hoopoes are featured in some Medieval Bestiaries, where they are claimed to care for their parents when they get old.
- A hoopoe figures centrally in The Conference of the Birds, one of the central works of Sufi literature.
- In Valencian culture, the bird is known as the Palput, and is associated with the penis. [3]
- Three Hoopoes form part of the ten songbirds named the Tittifers in the BBC children's TV show In the Night Garden (although this is most likely the same one Hoopoe replicated using CGI).
- The Long-Billed Hoopoe was chosen as the national bird of the State of Israel in May 2008 in conjunction with the country's 60th anniversary, following a national survey of 155,000 citizens, overcoming the popular Pycnonotus xanthopygos (White spectacled Bulbul). [4]
Gallery
 Preening |
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 In Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
 In Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
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 on a tree in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
 at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India. |
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Upupa epops. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ a b Forshaw, Joseph (1991). in Forshaw, Joseph: Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press, 147-148. ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
- ^ (Spanish) Esteban Peicovich, La Nación (June 10, 2008). "El pájaro más votado".
- ^ Reuters photo credit: Ofir Lotan (May 29, 2008). "Day in pictures". San Francisco Chronicle.
External links
- Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta
- Hoopoe videos on the Internet Bird Collection
