HOOPOE
is the common name
for a beautiful shy, solitary, Old World woodland bird. Its body color ranges from
cinnamon to chestnut, with white-barred, black wings and tail, and a head
topped by a prominent, erectile crest.
Hoopoes measure from 27–30 cm, bill to
tail. They are primarily ground feeders and use their long, slender, decurved
bills to probe for large insects, worms, and lizards. Less frequently, the Hoopoe feeds while airborne, exhibiting its characteristic undulating erratic
flight.
Hoopoes are
excellent runners. Found throughout the Old World, Hoopoes frequent warm, dry
areas, which are at least partially open. The northernmost species, which reach
the English Channel and the Baltic Sea, are migratory in winter. The nest is
built in a tree cavity or a rock crevice, sometimes lined with debris, or
sometimes bare. The female lays and incubates from four to six pale blue to
olive colored eggs per clutch and is fed during incubation by her mate. Both
sexes care for the naked, helpless young.
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