Fun Facts About The Hoopoe – Israel’s National Bird

1. It was chosen to be Israel’s national bird in 2008 it was chosen by 155 000 voters, beating out over 50 choices including the red falcon, goldfinch and barn owl. Other choices included the Palestine sunbird (whose name might have affected votes) and the vulture (which probably comes off as a more grim omen).

2. It is a true stinker from birth- like a skunk. For starters, it paints its eggs with bacteria – something no other known bird does. After laying a clutch of 7-12 eggs that start out as cerulean blue, the female ‘paints’ them with her beak in a bacteria cocktail that she produces, so the eggs eventually turn brown. It is believed that such a mechanism protects the eggs from infections. Besides, it lets litter and feces accumulate in the nest, which definitely does not smell attractive to any intruders. And even the babies can strategically aim and ‘shoot’ faeces at predators to deter them. A born stinker indeed!

3. The Hoopoe is found all over the Old World, from Europe, the Middle East to Asia. Some have even been spotted in Alaska and the Himalayas, the latter at such high altitudes. To most of us, they all look the same. However, experts can tell apart the nine (or ten) different subspecies. The African and Madagascar hoopoes are distant relatives. The St. Helena hoopoe is probably an extinct cousin. Some believe that the St. Helena Hoopoe was flightless, akin to how the dodo in New Zealand was a flightless relative of flying pigeons. And that is how birds on remote islands evolve — due to lack of predators.