Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758

A medium sized bird with fawn and black colour. Its long thin beak and crown are distinctive. It can be seen probing the soil on lightly vegetated grounds with its beak.

This is an attractive fawn-coloured bird, with black-and-white markings on its back, wings and tail. It has a prominent fan-shaped crest, tipped with black, and a long, slender, gently curved bill. It is found in open and lightly wooded country, but is also fond of lawns, gardens and groves in and around towns and villages. It is usually seen alone or in pairs on the ground, busily probing into the soil for food, with its bill partly open like forceps. It is very territorial in the breeding season, and males can lock together seizing each other by the tip of the bill. They then disengage and jab at each other until one bird retreats. It feeds on insects, grubs and pupae, and so is considered beneficial to agriculture. When digging for food its crest is folded back, but it is flicked open and erect from time to time. Its call is a soft, penetrating and musical hoo-poo or hoo-po-po, repeated in runs for up to ten minutes.

The season ranges between February and April. A hole in a wall, roof, under eaves or in a rotten branch or stump is selected and lined untidily with rags, hair, wool, straw and rubbish. The normal clutch consists of 5 or 6 eggs, white when fresh but becoming discoloured as incubation progresses. The female is a close sitter and seldom leaves the nest, being zealously fed by her mate all through this period. The nest is notorious for the mass of filth that accumulates there, and for the abominable stench it emits. Moth sexes share in feeding the young.

About that of the Myna.

A fawn coloured bird with black-and-white zebra markings on back, wings and tail ; a conspicuous fan-shaped crest and Ions, slender, slightly curved bill. Sexes alike.

The Hoopoe is a bird of open country, plains as well as hills upto about 5,000 feet, ft is fond of lawns, gardens and groves in and about towns and villages. Scattered pairs and family parties of four or live birds are usually met with, feeding exclusively on the ground, probing into the soil and amongst the fallen leaves with bill partly open like forceps. It walks and runs on its short legs with a quail-like but somewhat waddling gait. When digging, the crest is depressed and projects in a point behind the head suggestive ol a miniature pickaxe. When the bird is alarmed or excited, the crest is quickly erected and opened lanwise. It flies off in an undulating, undecided sort of way to resettle at some distance whereupon the crest is again raised. The call is a suit and musical, but penetrating, hoo-po, or hoo-po-po repeated several times and often intermittently for over 10 minutes at a stretch. When calling from a branch the bird lowers and bobs its head so that the bill lies almost flat against the breast, the tail at the same time being depressed and turned in under the perch as if in an effort to make both ends meet. At other times the head is jerked forward at each successive call as if barking, and the crest raised and lowered from time to time. Besides this call, it has a variety of harsh subdued caws and wheezy chuckles. Its diet consists of insects, grubs and pupa, it is beneficial to agriculture bv virtue of the vast numbers of insect pests it destroys.

Frequents on open country, plains and hills up to 2000m above msl. Fond of lawns, gardens and groves in and around villages and towns.

Singly or pairs, usually on the ground in lightly wooded country.

IUCN Redlist Status: Least Concern

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1