We regularly hear Eurasian Hoopoes (Poupas in Portuguese) on walks throughout the Algarve but regular readers will know I have struggled to photograph them. In fact I was beginning to consider them my bête noire. However as you can see from this post my luck completely changed on a lovely stroll in Ludo and Lagoa de São Lourenço. A pair were happily hunting for grubs right in front of us. They were even joined at one point by a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
My perfect shot will be of a Hoopoe looking at the camera with their glorious crest fully erect. So Poupa perfection has yet to be achieved but I am getting closer!
Their scientific name is Upupa Epops, and like their English and Portuguese names, they are onomatopoeic, ie their name imitates the sound the bird makes. Have a listen to this excellent Xeno-Canto recording by Peter Boesman.
The Hoopoe diet consists mainly of insects such as crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, and ants. They will occasionally also eat berries and even small reptiles. Apparently though they have a preferred dinner size of around 20–30 millimetres. Looks like this one may have found just that!
Oops forgot to link this to my other blog! I was ‘tickled pink’.