African hoopoe, Upupa epops, photographed at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 17 January 2010 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender, ISO 400, f/9, 1/400 sec
Question: I've never seen this species in the wild, but in my opinion, this African mystery bird is a "flying field mark" because nothing else in the world looks like it. Can you identify this lovely and distinctive bird?
Response: This is an African hoopoe, Upupa epops, often known simply as the hoopoe. This species' genus name, Upupa, imitates the bird's call, so one could argue that this distinctive bird named itself.
The hoopoe has two habitat requirements; first, it needs bare or lightly vegetated earth on which to forage and second, it needs plenty of vertical surfaces with cavities (such as trees, cliffs or walls, nestboxes, or even haystacks) in which to nest. As a result, they occupy a wide range of ecosystems and have a large range of habitats including heathland, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, and even open glades inside forests.
This bird is beneficial to humans, consuming a wide variety of insect pests, and thus, in many countries, it is protected by law.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.
