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Scientific: Upupa epo (Linnaeus, 1758).
The Hoopoe, the sole member of the family Upupidae, differs from its rainbow-colored relatives in that its plumage is a subdued orange-brown with black and white pattern. On the other hand,
it sports a flat ornamental crest of long feathers resting folded on the nape except when the bird is excited, when they are raised and expanded to form a magnificent fan. The Hoopoe
is found in a large part of Eurasia, Africa as well as in Bangladesh.
The Hoopoe is a monomorphic species... as both sexes carry the crest it is not easy to tell them apart. They feed on insects caught on ground or pulled from underground. The Hoopoe
has a very short tongue in its long bill; that is the reason for its swallowing food – mostly grasshoppers, locusts, crickets and various larvae – by throwing it up to the
air and catching it back right into the gullet.
Recommended Book: Birds of India
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