Species guide
Common Hoopoe: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Andrej Chudý · CC BY-NC-SA · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Upupa epops
- Family
- Hoopoes
- Size
- About 25–29 cm
- Habitat
- Open country with short grass, orchards and gardens
- Found in
- Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania
The key marks
A pinkish-brown bird with a fan-like crest, a long curved bill and black-and-white striped wings.
Voice
A soft, hollow “hoo-po-po”.
Good to know
A nesting female secretes a foul-smelling oily liquid that helps deter predators.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open country with short grass, orchards and gardens. It is especially common in Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Greece. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.