hoopoe

/ˈhuˌpu/

Other forms: hoopoes

A hoopoe is a distinctive bird with a fabulous crown of feathers on its head. Hoopoes are found in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The colorful hoopoe, with its spectacular crest and pinkish feathers marked with bold stripes, is a beautiful bird with a reputation for being smelly. Hoopoes are actually clean birds that keep their nests tidy, but they can also release a terrible stink to keep predators at bay. The name hoopoe is imitative, resembling the bird's soft cry, which has been described as sounding like "the noise of blowing gently over a bottle."

Definitions of hoopoe

1. noun

   any of several crested Old World birds with a slender downward-curved bill
   synonyms: hoopoo

   types:

   Euopean hoopoe, Upupa epops

   pinkish-brown hoopoe with black-and-white wings

   type of:

   coraciiform bird

   chiefly short-legged arboreal nonpasserine birds that nest in holes