Upupa epops

András Kolbert/ index.hu

The Eurasian Hoopoe is found widely across Africa, Europe and Asia. A member of the order Coraciiformes, it is closely related to hornbills, kingfishers and bee-eaters. It lives year round in Central Africa; large numbers of the species nest annually across Europe and Asia.  They favor a varied habitat with access to scrub for foraging insects, but owing to a characteristic migratory zeal, they are no strangers to more extreme settings.  A hoopoe was spotted traversing the Himalayas on the first British Everest expedition in 1922 at an elevation greater than 6000 feet.  In 1975, one was seen in the Yukon Delta in Alaska.

In Ancient Egypt, the hoopoe was considered sacred; illustrations of it are found in tombs and on papyrus. Revered for monogamy and intergenerational loyalty, it was a popular pet for children. Farther east, it was considered one of Solomon’s birds in the bible, honored with a crown for shielding the king from the sun, or as some sources suggest, for acting as a messenger between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. When other birds became jealous and hunters became greedy for it, the gold crown was replaced with one of feathers.

Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society's 2015 Bird of the Year.  http://felegyhazikozlony.eu/sa_hirek/i_napi_pozitiv_26/i_a_bubos_banka_lett_iden_az_ev_madara_3175

The hoopoe makes a nest in the hollows of trees, cliffs or even buildings, and during incubation seals the entrance hole with mud.  The word adobe is said to come from one Egyptian name for the hoopoe: Db. As further protection against predation or parasites, the female hoopoe and her nestlings secrete from uropygeal glands a foul smelling liquid which lines the nest and is spread on feathers. It’s thought in some circles that the expression «it’s an ill bird that fouls its own nest» was inspired by this behavior. The nesting female is also able to aim its feces at intruders with accuracy.

The blood, eyes, heart and feathers of the hoopoe were said to ward off evil. Also considered magical was the lapis quirinus, a stone said to be found in the hoopoe’s nest. Artifacts of the bird are still sold for incantatory purposes on the black market in Morocco.

Voted the National Bird of Israel in 2008, beating out the White Crested bulbul

It is called by many names:

Albanian - pupëzen

Amharic - ጅንጅላቴና (jinijilatēna)

Arabic - الهدهد  (al-hudhud)

Azerbaijani - şanapipik

Basque - argi-oilarra

Chinese - 戴胜 (dài shèng - "wear headdress")

Egyptian - qqpt (koukipat), db (doobe)

Estonian - laanekägu

Finnish - harjalintu

French - huppe

German - Wiedehopf

Greek - τσαλαπετεινός (tsalapeteinos)

Hebrew - דוכיפת (dokhifat)

Hindi - हुदहुद (hudhud)

Hungarian - búbos banka

Italian - upupa
Japanese - 戴勝 (yatsugashira - "eight head")
Latvian - bada dzeguze

Lithuanian - kukutis
Luxembourgish - mitock

Malagasy - takidara

Maltese - daqquqa tat-toppu
Mandarin - 鵖鴔 (bī fú)

Portuguese - poupa
Romanian - pupăza

Russian - удод  (udod)

Spanish - abubilla

Swahili - hudihudi
Swedish - härfågel
Thai - นกกะรางหัวขวาน (nók kà-raaŋ hŭa-kʰwăan -
axe-headed laughing thrush)

Turkish - ibibik


HOOPOE / Upupa epops / in SLOW MOTION from Artur Homan on Vimeo.