29 September β 2 April
the coastal calendar, shifted 14 days later for this region
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 | 29 September β 2 April | 186 days | Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south. |
| arriving | 3 April β 18 April | 16 days | Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak. |
| courting | 19 April β 8 May | 20 days | Song, display, fighting, scent-marking β pairs forming or reaffirming. |
| on eggs | 9 May β 28 May | 20 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 29 May β 23 June | 26 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young have left | 24 June β 2 September | 71 days | Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults. |
| leaving | 3 September β 28 September | 26 days | Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. |