Welcome to You Ask Andy

Mark Maretti, age 13, of Guadalupe, Calif., for his question:

WHAT IS A HOOPOE?

The hoopoe is not a native bird of North or South America. His home territory ranges over wide regions of Europe, Asia and Africa. There his eye catching plumage adds a cheerful note to the meadows. When you see him for the first time, you might suspect that he is announcing the arrival of a circus.

He is dressed like a merry clown, and his conversation is limited to hoop hoop hoop. He was named the hoopoe (pronounced who pooh) from his soft, low birdcall. His favorite territory is warm and dry, preferably strewn with trees where he can perch on the boughs. However, he feeds on the ground, and his nest is often in a pile of stones.

The slender hoopoe is about 12 inches long, plus a slim, slightly curved 2 inch bill. His body plumage is a pretty brownish rose color. But his outstanding features are wings like gaudy fans and a sassy crest on his head. His wide wings are crossed with zebra stripes, like black and white ribbons. His black tail is accented with a white cross stripe.

The long, pale feathers in his high crest are tipped with vivid black. Sometimes he lets them sag, like a shaggy hairdo. When alarmed or excited, he raises and lowers his topknot in an eye catching display.

Aside from family duties, his main interest in life is probing for food on the ground. For this he uses his slender bill, prodding the soil in search of worms and spiders, assorted grubs and bugs. Sometimes he feasts on a small lizard. The hoopoe is not a fast flyer, and when he flits from here to there his slowly beating wings remind one of a gaudy, super size butterfly.

    There is nothing fancy about the family nest, which may be a hole in a tree trunk or a hollow on the ground.

Usually the floor is unlined, though a few leaves or feathers may be added. The mother bird sits on five to 12 grayish eggs, and both parents toil to feed the growing chicks.


The hoopoe has been loved and admired since ancient times, when many fables were told about him. One of these old folk tales says that his original crest was pure gold. People hunted him to steal his golden feathers, and the brave little bird appealed for help from wise King Solomon. The problem was solved by changing his crest to feathers.

 

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