hoopoe

The hoopoe is the sole member of its family, the Upupidae. With its orange-pink body plumage, boldly striped wings and tail, and huge, erectile crest, it is an unmistakable bird. It feeds mainly on the ground on worms, insects, and other invertebrates.

Bird slightly larger than a thrush, with a long, thin, slightly downward-curving bill and a bright pinkish-buff crest tipped with black that expands into a fan shape on top of the head. The wings and tail are banded with black and white, and the rest of the plumage is buff-coloured. The hoopoe is found throughout southern Europe and Asia down to southern Africa, India, Malaya. (Species Upupa epops, family Upupidae, order Coraciiformes.)

This bird is the ‘lapwing’ mentioned in the Old Testament.