The Upapa epops (scientific name) or the hoopoe is a brightly coloured bird native to Afro-Eurasia. Weighing approximately 12 inches, this medium-sized bird has a distinctive ‘crown’ of feathers on its head. It has a long thin bill, with a fawn-coloured head. Although they are known to eat seeds and small vertebrates, their diet is comprised of insects. Hoopoes are monogamous and territorial, but only for each season. An average size of a clutch is 12 eggs with an incubation period of 15 to 18 days. These birds are named such, because of their call. The hoopoe makes a noise which sounds like– ‘Hooooo-poooooe’. The hoopoe is the national bird of Israel. Its IUCN listing is the LEAST CONCERN.
Hoopoe
