Attract a Hoopoe

Hoopoe

This dove-sized Cinnamon-brown bird with its conspicuous erectile chest and curved bill is well

known and unmistakeable, being equally at home in the bushveld or the average garden.  Its flight is low and undulating with a butterfly-like quality, an impression created by its black and white wing barring.

The Hoopoe also known as the Hoephoep (Upupa epops) feeds mostly on insects and their larvae or worms obtained by probing in the ground with its bill, but it will also eat small lizards and small snakes when the opportunity occurs.  The sexes are similar, the female being a little duller, while the juvenile is a small, scruffy version of the female. 

The Hoopoe nests in a cavity in a wall, an old tree, termite mound or beneath the eaves of a house sometimes using the same nest in successive years.  The nest is unlined and the two to six eggs are incubated by the female for 17 days.  The chicks remain in the nest for up to 32 days and fed by both parents.  The nest assumes a strong musky odour.  When laid the Hoopoe’s eggs are bluish-white or olive-green, but during incubation they fade to brownish or greyish colour.

The Hoopoe is a common garden bird in Europe, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and Asia. The most northern populations migrate to tropical regions during the winter months. The birds populating Africa and Southeast Asia are resident in their range.  It may however be difficult to attract a Hoopoe to a bird table.  Where bone-meal is regular provided it is possible that the Hoopoe will take to picking up the fallen scraps and may, thereafter, take it directly from the table.

A different method to try to attract a Hoopoe

A different method to try to attract a Hoopoe would be to place an artificial nest of the correct dimensions, a horizontally placed pipe or hollow log being ideal. The inside dimensions should measure approximately 45 - 60 cm x 20 cm.  One end should be well sealed and the opening at the opposite end reduced to a narrow vertical slit not more than 8 cm wide x 10 cm deep. (The Hoopoe likes to squeeze though the entrance gap).  The pipe or log should be securely fixed to a tree or a high wall well before the start spring.