Editing Hoopoe (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
In what was long thought to be a defensive posture, hoopoes sunbathe by spreading out their wings and tail low against the ground and tilting their head up; they often fold their wings and preen halfway through.<ref name=Fry1/> They also enjoy taking dust and sand baths.<ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last1=Harrison |first1=C.J.O. |first2=Christopher |last2=Perrins |title=Birds: Their Ways, Their World |publisher=The Reader's Digest Association |year=1979 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/birdstheirlifeth00came/page/303 303–304] |isbn=0-89577-065-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/birdstheirlifeth00came/page/303 }}</ref> Adults may begin their moult after the breeding season and continue after they have migrated for the winter.<ref name="CleevesHolden2014">{{cite book|last1=Cleeves|first1=Tim |last2=Holden|first2=Peter |title=RSPB Handbook of British Birds|url={{google books|id=_0r4AwAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes|keywords=hoopoe}}|year=2014|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4729-1010-3}}</ref>

===Diet and feeding===
[[File:Young and mature hoopoe.jpg|thumb|right|Young and mature hoopoe in Dubai park]]
[[File:Wiedehopf beim Fütterungsanflug im Naturschutzgebiet Glockenbuckel von Viernheim.jpg|thumb|Eurasian hoopoe in the nature reserve Glockenbuckel von Viernheim]]
[[File:Hoopoe feeding in Lengeri, Assam, India.webm|thumb|A hoopoe feeding in Lengeri village, [[Assam]], India]]
The diet of the hoopoe is mostly composed of insects, although small reptiles, frogs and plant matter such as seeds and berries are sometimes taken as well. It is a solitary forager which typically feeds on the ground. More rarely they will feed in the air, where their strong and rounded wings make them fast and manoeuverable, in pursuit of numerous swarming insects. More commonly their foraging style is to stride over relatively open ground and periodically pause to probe the ground with the full length of their bill. Insect larvae, pupae and mole crickets are detected by the bill and either extracted or dug out with the strong feet. Hoopoes will also feed on insects on the surface, probe into piles of leaves, and even use the bill to lever large stones and flake off bark. Common diet items include crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, ant lions, bugs and ants. These can range from {{convert|10| to| 150|mm|1}} in length, with a preferred prey size of around {{convert|20|–|30|mm|1}}. Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a preferred stone to kill them and remove indigestible body parts such as wings and legs.<ref name="HBW" />

===Breeding===
Hoopoes are [[monogamy in animals|monogamous]], although the pair bond apparently only lasts for a single season.  They are also [[territory (animal)|territorial]]. The male calls frequently to advertise his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males (and sometimes females) are common and can be brutal.<ref name = "HBW"/>  Birds will try to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights.<ref name="Martin Vivaldi">{{cite journal|last1=Martin-Vivaldi|first1=Manuel|last2=Palomino|first2=Jose J.|last3=Soler|first3=Manuel|year=2004 |title= Strophe Length in Spontaneous Songs Predicts Male Response to Playback in the Hoopoe ''Upupa epops''|journal =Ethology|volume=110|issue=5|pages=351–362|doi = 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2004.00971.x|bibcode=2004Ethol.110..351M }}</ref> The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall, and has a narrow entrance.<ref name=Harrison/> It may be unlined, or various scraps may be collected.<ref name=Pforr/> The female alone is responsible for [[avian incubation|incubating]] the eggs. [[avian clutch size|Clutch size]] varies with location: Northern Hemisphere birds lay more eggs than those in the Southern Hemisphere, and birds at higher latitudes have larger clutches than those closer to the equator. In central and northern Europe and Asia the clutch size is around 12, whereas it is around four in the tropics and seven in the subtropics. The eggs are round and milky blue when laid, but quickly discolour in the increasingly dirty nest.<ref name = "HBW"/> They weigh {{convert|4.5|g}}.<ref name=Fry1/> A replacement clutch is possible.<ref name=Pforr/> When food is bountiful, the female will lay a few extra eggs for the purpose of providing food for chicks that have already hatched. In a study done in Spain, it was found that nests with a higher incidence of cannibalism successfully fledged more chicks than in nests where hatchlings weren't fed to older chicks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barón |first1=María Dolores |last2=Martín-Vivaldi |first2=Manuel |last3=Martínez-Renau |first3=Ester |last4=Soler |first4=Juan José |date=2024-04-01 |title=Extra Nestlings That Are Condemned to Die Increase Reproductive Success in Hoopoes |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/728883 |journal=The American Naturalist |language=en |volume=203 |issue=4 |pages=503–512 |doi=10.1086/728883 |pmid=38489778 |bibcode=2024ANat..203..503B |issn=0003-0147|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Hoopoes have well-developed anti-predator defences in the nest. The [[uropygial gland]] of the incubating and brooding female is quickly modified to produce a foul-smelling liquid, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage. The secretion, which smells like rotting meat, is thought to help deter predators, as well as deter parasites and possibly act as an antibacterial agent.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Martin-Platero|first1=A. M.|last2=Valdivia|first2=E.|last3=Ruiz-Rodriguez|first3=M.|last4=Soler|first4=J. J.|last5=Martin-Vivaldi|first5=M.|last6=Maqueda|first6=M.|last7=Martinez-Bueno|first7=M.|year=2006|title=Characterization of Antimicrobial Substances Produced by Enterococcus faecalis MRR 10-3, Isolated from the Uropygial Gland of the Hoopoe (Upupa epops) |journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology|volume=72|issue=6|pages=4245–4249|doi=10.1128/AEM.02940-05|pmid=16751538|pmc=1489579|bibcode=2006ApEnM..72.4245M |display-authors=etal}}</ref> The secretions stop soon before the young leave the nest.<ref name=Fry1/> From the age of six days, nestlings can also direct streams of faeces at intruders, and will hiss at them in a snake-like fashion.<ref name = "HBW"/> The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.<ref name=Fry1/>

The incubation period for the species is between 15 and 18 days, during which time the male feeds the female. Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The chicks hatch with a covering of [[Down feather|downy feathers]]. By around day three to five, feather quills emerge which will become the adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the female for between 9 and 14 days.<ref name = "HBW"/> The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food.<ref name=Harrison/> The young [[fledge]] in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week more.<ref name=Pforr/>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Huppe fasciée MHNT ZOO 2010 11 161 Ouzouer-sur-Trézée.jpg|Hoopoe eggs ([[MHNT|Muséum de Toulouse]])
File:Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops) juvenile in nest box 2.jpg|Juvenile in nest box, [[Hungary]]
File:10 ZhaoMengfu- Hoopoe on Bamboo. Shanghai mus..jpg|''Hoopoe on Bamboo'' by [[Zhao Mengfu]], c. 1254–1322 ([[Shanghai Museum]])
File:Upupa epops (Ramat Gan)002.jpg|Eurasian hoopoe in Israel; crest lowered. The hoopoe is Israel's [[national bird]].
File:Hoopoe at Rajaji NP.jpg|Hoopoe at [[Rajaji National Park]], [[Uttarakhand]], India
File:Eurasian Hoopoe in Bangladesh.jpg|Hoopoe in [[Satchari National Park|Satchori National Park]], [[Bangladesh]]
</gallery>