Eurasian hoopoe
Upupa epops
— Where the name comes from
Both Upupa and the Greek épops imitate the bird’s song, a measured, hollow “oop-oop-oop” that carries in spring. It is one of the most plainly onomatopoeic names in European wildlife, repeated almost identically from Latin to Greek. The fanned crest makes it one of the most exotic apparitions in the Italian countryside.
— Facts
- Group
- Birds · Aves
- Order
- Hornbills
- Habitat
- Open farmland, orchards, vineyards, pasture with scattered trees
- Range
- Europe, Asia, Africa
- Size
- 25–29 cm, wingspan 44–48 cm
- Diet
- Insectivore — grubs, crickets, beetles pulled from the soil
- Lifespan
- 5–10 years
— Characteristics
- 01
The orange, black-tipped crest opens into a fan when it lands or takes alarm.
- 02
The flight, undulating and irregular, recalls that of a large butterfly.
- 03
It probes the ground with its long curved bill, finding grubs by touch.
— What sets it apart
The hoopoe defends its nest with stink: the female and the young produce from a gland a foul secretion, like rotting meat, and anoint their plumage with it to keep predators away. The chicks add a further defence, squirting droppings at anything that comes close. The nest of the most elegantly crested bird in Europe is, of necessity, one of the most fetid — an olfactory stronghold that discourages anyone from trying to get in.
