Its crown extends with a fineness and style as some royal aristocratic headgear. But the cinnamon-coloured plumage induces earthiness to its attitude. As it humbly blends into the woods, its black-white stripes flash a regal reminder. And as it walks thoughtfully on the ground, ‘hoopoe’ is what we admire.
The ‘hu-pu’ or ‘hu-po,’ as it is pronounced, is named exactly after the calls of this bird. It belongs to the family ‘Upupidae’ and species Upupa epops. Popular as Common Hoopoe or Eurasian Hoopoe, this resident bird of India, seasonally migrates across the subcontinent. During monsoon, for example, it flies from Western Ghats to regions downhill.
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