Territorial male hoopoes utter a pure, far-carrying note, quickly repeated \u2013 \u2018poop, poop, poop\u2019 \u2013 and produce up to 20\u201330 bursts of pooping a minute. It\u2019s one of the loveliest animal sounds, not quite as drawn-out or ethereal as the hoot of a tawny owl, but softer even than the mellow cooing of the collared dove. The effect is like the noise you make by blowing gently over a bottle.<\/span><\/p>\n

As male hoopoes sing, they throb visibly with each note. Their bills open briefly at first, as if to take a deep breath, but somehow remain tightly closed during the pooping itself. Curiously, hoopoes also have a raucous repertoire of rather harsh calls that are at odds with their gorgeous song.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to identify bird song and bird calls<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
What\u2019s the difference between a song and a call?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
What\u2019s the loudest bird?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
Where do they nest?<\/h2>\n
What do hoopoes need for a good life? Firstly, some kind of hole in which to nest<\/a><\/strong>, in a tree, wall, cliff or even an old rabbit warren. Secondly, dry ground with sparse, low-growing vegetation or bare sandy soil, where they can run around unhindered on their short legs to find food, and, finally, a few trees to which they can retreat when danger threatens.<\/span><\/p>\n
What habitat do they like?<\/h2>\n
Olive groves and stands of cork oaks suit hoopoes fine, as do small meadows with tumbledown walls and outbuildings. Hotel lawns and flowerbeds are worth checking for grubs, but intensive farming is bad news. As for most wild things, a stony, weedy, flowery field with an abundance of grubs and beetles is much better than a neatly planted, uniform crop.<\/span><\/p>\n
Where do they live?<\/h2>\n
Breeds throughout southern and central Eurasia and in Africa. Northern populations migrate to Africa and southern Asia in winter.<\/p>\n
How do they breed?<\/b><\/h2>\n
In spring, male hoopoes return to their breeding ranges a few days ahead of the females. Single males pursue potential mates, spreading their crests, bowing and fanning their tails \u2013 striving to impress.<\/p>\n\nSmall groups take part in comical chases, which may develop into fierce skirmishes. Though these scraps are short, the birds\u2019 scimitar bills may inflict serious injury.<\/p>\nNewly formed pairs investigate likely nest holes, making sure that the essentials are close at hand: good feeding areas, safe retreats when disturbed, and spots for sun- and dust-bathing. Meanwhile, the male offers titbits to his mate, presumably to strengthen the pair bond and provide extra nutrition while she is forming her eggs.<\/span><\/p>\nOn average, three or four juveniles from each brood survive to face the long flight south. Some might winter in North Africa, but most will cross the Sahara, generally at night, to reach an altogether different world. Still, the basics are there: dusty earth and short grass, with an abundance of juicy grubs and bumbling beetles.<\/span><\/p>\nThe urge to return in spring must be very strong; but then, a Mediterranean sojourn can\u2019t be so bad. Hillsides and olive groves come alive again with the sound of \u2018poop, poop, poop\u2019. The butterfly birds are back.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Why do hoopoes smell?<\/span><\/h2>\nHoopoes are often vilified as unclean and a foul stench is said to emanate from their nests. But in fact their nest holes are usually lined with pine needles or moss, <\/span>and females fastidiously remove the chicks\u2019 <\/span>droppings. So why the bad reputation? <\/span>A fondness for probing dung in search<br\/>\nof grubs doesn\u2019t help, but the main reason hoopoes are seen as malodorous is that nesting females and their chicks resort to chemical warfare to fight off would-be predators.<\/span><\/p>\n If alarmed, the birds release a fluid that stinks of rotting meat from a specialised gland above the tail.<\/span><\/p>\nBetter still, if the female is away from the nest, the entire brood leans forwards, cocks their tails and forcefully ejects the contents of their guts as reeking streams of excrement reaching 50cm or more.<\/span><\/p>\nOther birds use similar tactics to deter predators at the nest. For example, fulmars squirt jets of noxious liquid from their bills, hitting targets up to 1m away. On St Kilda, off the west coast of Scotland, where islanders once killed fulmars for food, their ruined houses smelled of the birds many years after the rocky outcrop had been abandoned.<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/smallest-birds-in-the-world\/"\">10 smallest birds in the world<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/how-do-birds-fly\/"\">How do birds fly?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/why-is-bird-poo-white\/"\">Why is bird poo white?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <hr\/>\nMain image \u00a9 Getty Images<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All you need to know about the flamboyant hoopoe, one of Europe’s most beautiful birds <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30874,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad.jpg",2309,1299,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad-1024x576.jpg",800,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/07\/hoopoe-guide-what-they-eat-how-big-they-are-and-why-they-smell-so-bad-2048x1152.jpg",2048,1152,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"All you need to know about the flamboyant hoopoe, one of Europe's most beautiful birds","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/30873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

What do they eat?<\/h2>\nMostly large insects such as mole crickets, cockchafers, beetles and moths, especially larvae and pupae; also woodlice, centipedes, ants, spiders and slugs; occasionally lizards, earthworms and berries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do they live?<\/h2>\nBreeds throughout southern and central Eurasia and in Africa. Northern populations migrate to Africa and southern Asia in winter.<\/p>\n

What do they eat?<\/h2>\n
Mostly large insects such as mole crickets, cockchafers, beetles and moths, especially larvae and pupae; also woodlice, centipedes, ants, spiders and slugs; occasionally lizards, earthworms and berries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do they live?<\/h2>\n
Breeds throughout southern and central Eurasia and in Africa. Northern populations migrate to Africa and southern Asia in winter.<\/p>\n