by S. August Abbott (TheCaretaker)

Created on: August 21, 2008

Upupidae: India's Native Wildlife

It has the spectacular headdress of a cockatoo, the body of a large thrush, the scurrying speed of a woodpecker and elegant, slender, curved beak. The Common Hoopoe looks anything but common.

This is a member of the Upupiformes family which include the Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops), a bird native to India with 9 subspecies throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. The Common Hoopoe is not sexually dimorphic, so both the males and females will look alike. They are colorful and showy birds about 30 cm with a long, curved bill, short legs and a beautiful light orange colored crest with black tips that when the bird is in full display looks very impressive against the pinkish brown upper body and grey & white barred wings and tail.

It's worth noting that while Upupidae currently have but one Genus and only one species, there was a second species called Giant Hoopoe' (Upupa anaios) that lived on the island of St. Helena. Sadly, this magnificent bird has been extinct since the 1600's. Hoopoe's are not currently endangered, but increasingly laws are in place to protect them in most areas since conversion of their habitat to farmland or previously lush properties have become deserts diminished their numbers.

There are also native peoples who still hunt the bird for feathers and food, but most humans encourage the Hoopoe to share their land for the pest control they provide.

The Common Hoopoe feeds mostly on insects (especially the larvae and egg stages), earthworms, woodlice, centipedes, even flying insects whenever possible and spiders. When they have the opportunity, they'll enjoy special treats of small lizards or frogs, even the occasional snake.

Found foraging on the ground in short grass or dirt their long, thin, curved beak is specialized for ground probing. Hoopoes tend to live near humans, though nests are usually a hollow tree, old termite mound, crevices in rocks and sometimes on select patches of flat ground. A nest site may be used for years if the bird feels it's safe and secure. It may be because the male establishes the site first that there's not much, if any building or anything in the way of nesting material.

A female will be found and moved in later, ready to lay clutches of 5 to 8 eggs at the rate of one a day. The male does not tend to the eggs, which often helps observers determine which bird is which sex. In about 15 to 18 days the eggs hatch sequentially (asynchronous hatching) which means that they began to incubate

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>