Hoopoe.
A small bird measuring 25-29 cm in length and with a wingspan of 44-48 cm. Distinguished by its striped black-and-white plumage on the wings and tail, the hoopoe has a long, slender beak and a long crest on its head, making it one of the most recognizable birds. The coloration of the head, neck, and chest varies from pinkish to chestnut depending on the subspecies. The wings are broad and rounded, colored with contrasting black and whitish-yellow stripes. The tail is of medium length, black with a wide white band in the middle. The underside of the body is pinkish-red, with dark longitudinal stripes on the sides. The crest on the head is orange-red, with black tips on the feathers.
Typically, the crest is folded and measures 5-10 cm in length (depending on the size of the bird); however, when landing (rarely at other times), the bird spreads it out, usually reaching 10-15 cm in height. The beak is 4-5 cm long and slightly curved downward. The tongue, unlike many other bird species, is greatly reduced. The legs are lead-gray, quite strong, with short metatarsals and blunt claws.
Usually inhabiting plains or hilly areas, it prefers open landscapes without tall grass, combined with isolated trees or small groves. In Southern Europe, hoopoes love to settle in vineyards, and in Africa, they can be found in almost every village and even large city.
They are attracted to garbage dumps and manure piles. They reach their highest numbers in warm and arid regions—steppe and forest-steppe zones, savannas. Active during the daytime, they use tree hollows, rocky crevices, or other suitable shelters for roosting at night.
Hoopoes are quite timid birds and panic at the sight of cats and dogs, but they completely ignore humans and domestic livestock. They often quarrel with each other and rarely tolerate two breeding pairs in the same territory.
During nesting, these birds choose tree hollows, but if there are no hollows nearby, they build their nests in crevices of rocks or walls if the situation occurs in a village or city. The female lays between 4 to 7 eggs. The newly hatched hoopoes are very greedy and cannot eat on their own, so the poor parents have to literally shove each piece into their mouths; otherwise, the beloved chicks will simply starve to death.
During the incubation and feeding of the chicks, both adult birds and chicks produce an oily liquid secreted from the uropygial gland, which has a sharp unpleasant smell. By releasing it along with their droppings onto intruders, hoopoes try to protect themselves from small terrestrial predators. By the time the young hoopoes start to fly, the entire nest is literally covered in excrement. Because of this uncleanliness, hoopoes are sometimes referred to as "stinky birds," in Kyrgyz "stinky hoopoe" - "sasyk upup."
Hoopoes reach sexual maturity at one year of age. They are monogamous. During courtship, the male and female slowly fly after each other, marking the place for their future nest. Often the same territory is used for several years.
The diet of the hoopoe mainly consists of small invertebrates: insects, their larvae and pupae (May beetles, dung beetles, carrion beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies, steppe locusts, flies, ants, termites), spiders, woodlice, centipedes, small mollusks, etc. Less frequently, they catch small frogs, lizards, and snakes.
Birds