Eurasian Hoopoe

• Its striking erectile crest of black-tipped feathers gives it its unmistakable profile.
• It feeds on insects and other small invertebrates probed out of the ground, and occasionally on small reptiles and amphibians.
• It is the national bird of Israel.
• defensaFemales and chicks can secrete a foul-smelling fluid from a gland near the tail as a defence against predators while nesting.
• comportamientoIts undulating, irregular flight recalls a large butterfly, which in some regions earned it a reputation for bad luck.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat & environment

Open ground with bare or sparse vegetation across Europe, Asia and North Africa, parks, orchards and savanna included

Birth weight

Weight at hatching not found as a precise figure

Size at birth

Born blind and naked

Sexual maturity

1 year

Gestation / incubation

15-18 days

Litter / clutch size

4 to 12 eggs per clutch (a usual European reference of ~7)

Sources consulted: Ornithology.com; The Animal Facts; Birda (identification); A-Z Animals; Animalia.bio; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); BTO Hoopoe; Birds of the World; Tandfonline (moult ageing study)

Best time: From March to September across much of Spain; in the south of the peninsula and in the Canaries there are resident populations that can be seen all year round.