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Title: Anyone heard of a Hoopoe? Written by: duddy on Mar 6, 2013 (https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/4_06_03_13_10_38_21.jpeg) (https://biology-forums.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=11429) A Hoopoe (pronounced who-poh, scientific name: Upupa epops) is a colourful African bird which has a distinctive ‘crown’ of feathers. The species is highly distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory subspecies. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats. Listen to it sing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL7ftg8HvfE |