Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

GrasslandCavity nestMedium · 67 g

Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops), photo 4 — Photo: Giorgia Mocilnik · CC BY 4.0

Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops), photo 5 — Photo: Huey · CC BY 4.0

Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops), photo 6 — Photo: Huey · CC BY 4.0

What the Common Hoopoe sounds like

Sonogram of the Common Hoopoe: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Lionel Triboulin · Alarm call · Arrondissement de Millau (near Veyreau), Aveyron, Occitanie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Lionel Triboulin · Song · Arrondissement de Millau (near Veyreau), Aveyron, Occitanie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The Eurasian hoopoe is a medium-sized bird, 25–32 cm (9.8–12.6 in) long, with a 44–48 cm (17–19 in) wingspan. It weighs 46–89 g (1.6–3.1 oz). The species is highly distinctive, with 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 probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory subspecies.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Common Hoopoe

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Common Hoopoe

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 136 countries with regular records, and 8 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Spain India France Portugal Israel South Africa United Arab Emirates China Türkiye Taiwan Thailand Sweden Greece Kenya Italy Germany Ukraine Bulgaria Tanzania Poland Egypt Morocco Iran Hungary Nepal Botswana Namibia Cyprus Georgia Romania Mongolia Saudi Arabia Kuwait Cambodia Ethiopia Austria Palestinian Territories Sri Lanka Bhutan Kazakhstan Zimbabwe South Korea Zambia Russia United Kingdom Norway Croatia Pakistan Senegal Oman Czechia Jordan Bangladesh Armenia Nigeria Serbia Azerbaijan Uganda Mozambique Belgium Qatar Vietnam Moldova Slovakia Kyrgyzstan Myanmar (Burma) Switzerland Tunisia Slovenia Malawi Uzbekistan Belarus Hong Kong SAR China Algeria Gambia North Macedonia Lebanon Lithuania Eswatini Montenegro Albania Iraq Finland Latvia Tajikistan Bahrain Malta Mauritania Bosnia & Herzegovina Angola Djibouti Japan Cameroon Netherlands Chad Gibraltar Rwanda Congo - Kinshasa Libya Afghanistan Sudan Somalia Kosovo Niger Ireland Denmark Laos Estonia Yemen Eritrea Burkina Faso Syria Ghana Turkmenistan Malaysia Benin North Korea Central African Republic Congo - Brazzaville Gabon Lesotho Mali South Sudan Macao SAR China Philippines Burundi Guinea-Bissau Cape Verde Guinea Andorra Faroe Islands Isle of Man Jersey Liechtenstein Côte d’Ivoire Maldives

Recorded as a rare visitor in Australia, Iceland, Luxembourg, United States, Singapore, Guernsey, Madagascar, San Marino.

About the Common Hoopoe

The Eurasian hoopoe or common hoopoe is the most widespread species of the genus Upupa. It is a distinctive cinnamon coloured bird with black and white wings, a tall erectile crest, a broad white band across a black tail, and a long narrow downcurved bill. Its call is a soft "oop-oop-oop".

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Madagascar HoopoeUpupa marginataThe adult Madagascar hoopoe is about 32 cm (12.6 in) long and weighs 57 to 91 g (2.0 to 3.2 oz).

Side by side: Common Hoopoe vs Madagascar Hoopoe

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