15 September β 19 March
the coastal calendar, unshifted
Grazed ground and olive terraces, probing with the bill; the crest goes up on landing.
The nest cavity is deliberately filthy β the female produces a foul secretion that deters predators β and the smell is how most people find one. Numbers here track grazing: abandon a terrace to scrub and the hoopoes go with it.
photos, sightings and recordings, off this site
where this species is on the list
| Phase | When | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| away for the winter | 15 September β 19 March | 186 days | Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south. |
| arriving | 20 March β 4 April | 16 days | Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak. |
| courting | 5 April β 24 April | 20 days | Song, display, fighting, scent-marking β pairs forming or reaffirming. |
| on eggs | 25 April β 14 May | 20 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 15 May β 9 June | 26 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young have left | 10 June β 19 August | 71 days | Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults. |
| leaving | 20 August β 14 September | 26 days | Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. |