hoopoe

hoopoe

hoopoe , common name for a shy, solitary, Old World woodland bird, Upupa epops. 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 10 1/2 to 12 in. (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. In addition to its beautiful plumage, the hoopoe is also noted for its filthy, malodorous nest. The bad odor comes from a combination of putrefying excrement, which the bird does not trouble to remove, and from defensive musty-smelling secretions released from the preen gland of the female when she is disturbed. Woodhoopoes belong to the same family as the hoopoe. They are uncrested and are more gregarious than the hoopoe. Found only in the forests of Africa, woodhoopoes are metallic greens, blues, and purples in color, and travel in small, noisy groups. They share the same foul nesting habits as the hoopoes. Hoopoes and woodhoopoes are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Coraciiformes, family Upupidae.

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"hoopoe." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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hoopoe

hoo·poe / ˈhoōˌpō; -ˌpoō/ • n. a salmon-pink Eurasian bird (Upupa epops, family Upupidae) with a long down-curved bill, a large erectile crest, and black and white wings and tail.

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"hoopoe." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"hoopoe." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hoopoe.html

"hoopoe." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hoopoe.html

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hoopoe

hoopoe Striped, fawn-coloured bird that lives in open areas throughout warmer parts of Eurasia. It has a fan-like crest, a long, curved bill, and feeds on small invertebrates. Length: 30cm (12in). Family Upupidae; species Upupa epops.

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"hoopoe." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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hoopoe

hoopoe (Upopa epops) See UPUPIDAE; CORACIIFORMES.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "hoopoe." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "hoopoe." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-hoopoe.html

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hoopoe

hoopoe •tapu • quipu • coypu • hoopoe

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"hoopoe." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"hoopoe." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hoopoe.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

The Hoopoe's Crown. (Poetry).(Poem)
Magazine article from: The Antioch Review; 1/1/2003
Israel Names Hoopoe National Bird.
Newspaper article from: Israel Faxx; 5/30/2008
KOSHER HOOPOE.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Mirror (London, England); 5/30/2008

Facts and information from other sites

hoopoe images
hoopoe. (Image by J.M.Garg, GFDL)