[Animals] Hoopoe - Description - Life Style

[𝐌𝐑-𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐃 体]

Hoopoes (/ˈhuːpuː, ˈhuːpoʊ/) are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single species—Upupa epops. In fact, some taxonomists still consider all three species conspecific. Some authorities also keep the African and Eurasian hoopoe together but split the Madagascar hoopoe. The Eurasian hoopoe is common in its range and has a large po[CENSORED]tion, so it is evaluated as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, their numbers are declining in Western Europe.[3] Conversely, the hoopoe has been increasing in numbers at the tip of the South Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh. There are dozens of nesting pairs that remain resident all year round. Taxonomy The genus Upupa was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[4] The type species is the Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops).[5] Upupa and ἔποψ (epops) are respectively the Latin and Ancient Greek names for the hoopoe; both, like the English name, are onomatopoeic forms which imitate the cry of the bird.[6][7] The hoopoe was classified in the clade Coraciiformes, which also includes kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers.[8] A close relationship between the hoopoe and the wood hoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes.[9] In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy,

he hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes as a separate order, the Upupiformes. Some authorities place the wood hoopoes in the Upupiformes as well.[10] Now the consensus is that both hoopoe and the wood hoopoes belong with the hornbills in the Bucerotiformes.[11] The fossil record of the hoopoes is very incomplete, with the earliest fossil coming from the Quaternary.[12] The fossil record of their relatives is older, with fossil wood hoopoes dating back to the Miocene and those of an extinct related family, the Messelirrisoridae, dating from the Eocene.[10] Species Formerly considered a single species, the hoopoe has been split into three separate species: the Eurasian hoopoe, Madagascar hoopoe and the resident African hoopoe. One accepted separate species, the Saint Helena hoopoe, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the 16th century, presumably due to introduced species.[12] The genus Upupa was created by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758. It then included three other species with long curved bills:[13] U. eremita (now Geronticus eremita), the northern bald ibis U. pyrrhocorax (now Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), the red-billed chough U. paradisea Formerly, the greater hoopoe-lark was also considered to be a member of this genus (as Upupa alaudipes).[14] Extant species Genus Upupa – Linnaeus, 1758 – three species Common name    Scientific name and subspecies    Range    Size and ecology    IUCN status and estimated po[CENSORED]tion African hoopoe Upupa africana Bechstein, 1811    South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia and the southern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo    Size: Habitat: Diet:     LC Eurasian hoopoe Upupa epops Cabanis & Heine, 1860 Six subspecies U. e. epops Linnaeus, 1758 U. e. ceylonensis Reichenbach, 1853 U. e. longirostris Jerdon, 1862 U. e. major Brehm C.L., 1855 U. e. senegalensis Swainson, 1837 U. e. waibeli Reichenow, 1913 Europe, Asia, and North Africa and northern Sub-Saharan Africa    Size: Habitat: Diet:     LC Madagascar hoopoe Upupa marginata (, )    Madagascar    Size: Habitat: Diet:     LC Distribution and habitat Hoopoe nesting at Ganden Monastery, Tibet Distribution of Upupa species African hoopoe Eurasian hoopoe (breeding) Eurasian hoopoe (resident) Eurasian hoopoe (wintering) Madagascar hoopoe Hoopoe with insect Hoopoes are widespread in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.[15] Most European and north Asian birds migrate to the tropics in winter.[16] In contrast, the African po[CENSORED]tions are sedentary all year.

The species has been a vagrant in Alaska;[17] U. e. saturata was recorded there in 1975 in the Yukon Delta.[18] Hoopoes have been known to breed north of their European range,[19] and in southern England during warm, dry summers that provide plenty of grasshoppers and similar insects,[20] although as of the early 1980s northern European po[CENSORED]tions were reported to be in the decline, possibly due to changes in climate.[19] The hoopoe has two basic requirements of its habitat: bare or lightly vegetated ground on which to forage and vertical surfaces with cavities (such as trees, cliffs or even walls, nestboxes, haystacks, and abandoned burrows[19]) in which to nest. These requirements can be provided in a wide range of ecosystems, and as a consequence the hoopoe inhabits a wide range of habitats such as heathland, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, as well as forest glades. The Madagascar species also makes use of more dense primary forest. The modification of natural habitats by humans for various agricultural purposes has led to hoopoes becoming common in olive groves, orchards, vineyards, parkland and farmland, although they are less common and are declining in intensively farmed areas.[15] Hunting is of concern in southern Europe and Asia.[18] Hoopoes make seasonal movements in response to rain in some regions such as in Ceylon and in the Western Ghats.[21] Birds have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas. One was recorded at about 6,400 m (21,000 ft) by the first Mount Everest expedition.[22] Behaviour and ecology In what was long thought to be a defensive posture, hoopoes sunbathe by spreading out their wings and tail low against the ground and tilting their head up; they often fold their wings and preen halfway through.[23] They also enjoy taking dust and sand baths.[24] Adults may begin their moult after the breeding season and continue after they have migrated for the winter.[25]The diet of the hoopoe is mostly composed of insects, although small reptiles, frogs and plant matter such as seeds and berries are sometimes taken as well. It is a solitary forager which typically feeds on the ground. More rarely they will feed in the air, where their strong and rounded wings make them fast and manoeuverable, in pursuit of numerous swarming insects. More commonly their foraging style is to stride over relatively open ground and periodically pause to probe the ground with the full length of their bill. Insect larvae, pupae and mole crickets are detected by the bill and either extracted or dug out with the strong feet. Hoopoes will also feed on insects on the surface, probe into piles of leaves, and even use the bill to lever large stones and flake off bark. Common diet items include crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, ant lions, bugs and ants. These can range from 10 to 150 millimetres (0.4 to 5.9 in) in length, with a preferred prey size of around 20–30 millimetres (0.8–1.2 in). Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a preferred stone to kill them and remove indigestible body parts such as wings and legs.[15] Breeding Hoopoes are monogamous, although the pair bond apparently only lasts for a single season. They are also territorial. The male calls frequently to advertise his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males (and sometimes females) are common and can be brutal.[15] Birds will try to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights.[26] The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall, and has a narrow entrance.[24] It may be unlined, or various scraps may be collected.[19] The female alone is responsible for incubating the eggs. Clutch size varies with location: Northern Hemisphere birds lay more eggs than those in the Southern Hemisphere, and birds at higher latitudes have larger clutches than those closer to the equator. In central and northern Europe and Asia the clutch size is around 12, whereas it is around four in the tropics and seven in the subtropics. The eggs are round and milky blue when laid, but quickly discolour in the increasingly dirty nest.[15] They weigh 4.5 grams (0.16 oz).[23] A replacement clutch is possible.[19] When food is bountiful, the female will lay a few extra eggs for the purpose of providing food for chicks that have already hatched. In a study done in Spain, it was found that nests with a higher incidence of cannibalism successfully fledged more chicks than in nests where hatchlings weren't fed to older chicks.[27] Hoopoes have well-developed anti-predator defences in the nest. The uropygial gland of the incubating and brooding female is quickly modified to produce a foul-smelling liquid, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage. The secretion, which smells like rotting meat, is thought to help deter predators, as well as deter parasites and possibly act as an antibacterial agent.[28] The secretions stop soon before the young leave the nest.[23] From the age of six days, nestlings can also direct streams of faeces at intruders, and will hiss at them in a snake-like fashion.[15] The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.[23] The incubation period for the species is between 15 and 18 days, during which time the male feeds the female. Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers. By around day three to five, feather quills emerge which will become the adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the female for between 9 and 14 days.[15] The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food.[24] The young fledge in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week more.[19]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe