Eurasian Hoopoe

Identification
The muscles in the head of the Eurasian hoopoe let the bill be opened when it is inserted in the ground.

The Eurasian hoopoe measures 25 to 32 centimetres and the wingspan is 44 to 48 centimetres, The Eurasian hoopoe weighs 46 to 89 grams. They have a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when inserted in the ground.

The Eurasian hoopoe has broad and rounded wings to support it for strong flight. The Eurasian hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight like that of a butterfly which is caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats.

The adult Eurasian hoopoe starts it's moult after the breeding season and continues in the Upupa epops epops subspecies which migrate to India.

Lineage
They belong to the Kingdom Animalia, the Phylum is Chordata, the Class is Aves, the Order is Bucerotiformes, the Family is Upupidae, the Genus is Upupa, the Binomial name is Upupa epops.

Subspecies
The subspecies Upupa epops orientalis is suggested in northwestern India.

The Upupa epops epops is the Nominate form found in northwest India.

The Upupa epops ceylonensis, it is smaller than the Nominate form, more rufous overall and no white in the crest.

Upupa epops longirostris is found in India, Larger than nominate, pale.

Sounds
They make a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop call and can have two and four syllables. In the Himalayas, the calls of the Eurasian hoopoe can be confused with that of the Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) but can be separated because the Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) produces four notes.

The Eurasian hoopoe also has calls like rasping croaks and hisses when they are alarmed. The adult female Eurasian hoopoe produces a wheezy note during courtship feeding by the adult male Eurasian hoopoe.

Diet
The Eurasian hoopoe eats insects, small reptiles, frogs, seeds and berries. The Eurasian hoopoe is a solitary forager which feeds on the ground. The Eurasian hoopoe rarely feeds in the air in which it's strong and rounded wings make them fast and manoeuvrable, in pursuit of numerous swarming insects.

The Eurasian hoopoe's foraging style is to stride over relatively open ground and periodically pause to probe the ground, Insect larvae, pupae and mole crickets and are extracted or dug out with it's strong feet.

The Eurasian hoopoe feeds on insects on the ground, the Eurasian hoopoe probes into piles of leaves and also uses it's bill to lever large stones and flake off bark.

The Eurasian hoopoe normally eats crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, ant lions, bugs and ants, They range from 10 to 150 millimetre in length, with a preferred prey size of around 20 to 30 millimetre.

Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a stone to kill them and remove indigestible body parts like wings and legs.

Habitat
Some individuals Upupa epops epops subspecies migrate to India for the winter from abroad.

The Eurasian hoopoe has two requirements for it's habitat like it is bare or lightly vegetated ground for foraging and vertical surfaces with cavities like trees, cliffs, walls, nestboxes, haystacks, and abandoned burrows for nesting. The Eurasian hoopoe can be found in wooded steppes, grasslands and forest glades.

The Eurasian hoopoe makes seasonal movements because of rain in such as in the Western Ghats. The Eurasian hoopoe has been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas.

Breeding & Nesting
The Eurasian hoopoe is monogamous, the pair bond only lasts for a single season, the Eurasian hoopoe is territorial. The adult male Eurasian hoopoe calls to advertise his ownership of the territory. The Eurasian hoopoe has chases and fights between rival males and females which are common and can be brutal.

The Eurasian hoopoe will try to stab the rivals with it's bill, some individuals are blinded in fights. The nest of the Eurasian hoopoe is in a hole in a tree or a wall which has a narrow entrance. It can be unlined, various scraps can be collected. The adult female Eurasian hoopoe incubates the eggs alone.

The adult female Eurasian hoopoe lays four eggs which are round and milky blue but can quickly discolour in the dirty nest. The eggs of the adult female Eurasian hoopoe weigh 4.5 grams. The replacement clutch is possible.

The Eurasian hoopoe has anti-predator defences in the nest. The uropygial gland of the incubating and brooding adult female Eurasian hoopoe is quickly modified to produce a foul-smelling liquid which smells of rotting meat, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage.

The secretion, it is thought to help scare predators as well as deter parasites and possibly act as an antibacterial agent. The secretions of the grown Eurasian hoopoe stop before they leave the nest.

From the age of six days, nestlings can direct streams of faeces and will hiss like a snake. The young Eurasian hoopoe can also strike with their bill or with one wing.

The incubation period for the eggs of the adult female Eurasian hoopoe is 15 to 18 days, The adult male Eurasian hoopoe feeds the adult female Eurasian hoopoe in this time, the incubation begins when the first egg is laid, the chicks are born asynchronously.

The chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers, around day three to five, feather quills appear that can become adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the adult female Eurasian hoopoe for 9 and 14 days.

The adult female Eurasian hoopoe joins the adult male Eurasian hoopoe for feeding the young. The young fledge in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for a week more. The Eurasian hoopoe shows hatching asynchrony of eggs.

Culture
The diet of the Eurasian hoopoe is pupae of the processionary moth, because of this reason the species is afforded protection.

The Eurasian hoopoe is the national bird of Israel, a national survey of 1,55,000 citizens was conducted outpolling the white-spectacled bulbul.

Behaviour and Ecology
The Eurasian hoopoe can sunbathe by spreading out it's wings and tail low against the ground and tilting their head up, they fold their wings and preen halfway. The Eurasian hoopoe also takes dust and sand baths.

Threats, Predators & Conservation Status
The population is 50 lakh to 1 crore, the threats are loss of habitat and hunting. They are listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List.