Granddad’s Camera
Hoopoe, as it appears in the game

No.102 · Birds · Rare visitor

Hoopoe

Upupa epops

A cinnamon-pink bird with zebra-striped wings, a long curved bill and a crest it fans out when excited. A few overshoot from Africa each spring and may spend days probing lawns.

When to look

April to May and September, mostly at dawn and day.

Time of day

Best time
Late March to May, and again in September. Early morning on short, dry grass.
Where in the game
Millbrook (churchyard, park and garden) and the New Forest (lawn and heath)
Size
25–32 cm long
Wingspan
44–48 cm
Weight
46–89 g; BTO's average is 67 g
Population
An average of 93 a year in the 2000s, 120 in the 2010s and 153 in 2020–23 (national records)
Status
Rare visitor; not assessed in the UK Birds of Conservation Concern

Diet

Large insects found on or in bare ground, such as crickets, beetles, earwigs and ants. It also takes small reptiles and frogs, and sometimes seeds and berries

Habitat

Short grass, bare ground and lightly wooded country with holes to nest in. In Britain migrants turn up on lawns, churchyards, playing fields and heaths

Breeding

Nests in tree or wall holes. 4–12 eggs (usually 7–8), incubated for 15–16 days by the female; young leave at 26–29 days. It has bred in Britain only in scattered short spells; a pair fledged three young in Leicestershire

Field signs

  • A soft, hollow 'oop-oop-oop' call from a bird on the ground or a low branch
  • A crest that opens like a fan when the bird lands
  • Black-and-white barred wings flashing in a deep, floppy, butterfly-like flight

Did you know?

  • Hoopoes sunbathe with their wings and tail spread flat on the ground.
  • A gland at the base of the tail produces a foul-smelling secretion that deters predators and parasites.
  • More than 8,000 records have been logged with the BTO, mostly spring overshoots that arrive in April.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Crest fanned March to May and September, dawn and day
    The hoopoe lands, and its crest opens like a fan, a black-tipped cinnamon crown.

Photo tip

Do not walk up to it. Hoopoes stay on the same lawn for hours if left alone, so pick a spot with a clear background, sit low and use a long lens from 20 m or more. Shoot at the moment the crest fans open.

Be a good naturalist

Schedule 1 protects it from disturbance. Keep well back, never flush it for a flight shot, and never play its call. If a crowd gathers, give the bird priority over the picture.

The law

Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: it is an offence to disturb one

Checked against