Page 25 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

HOOPOE 25

However, this strangely slovenly behaviour may have a
serious purpose.Animals live in a rich, sensory world
where smells are commonly used to communicate, to
mark territory or find a mate. Many animals also use
strong smells to deter predators. Skunks,Tasmanian devils,
wolverines and stink badgers are some of the most famous
mammalian ‘stinkers’, but a number of birds follow the
hoopoes’ example. Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), for instance,
famously projectile vomit a foul-smelling, fishy oil over
intruders! But surely hoopoes are only inviting disease by
failing to clean away their own excrement? No one knows
for sure, but it’s been suggested that there’s method to their
apparent madness. By attracting insects, they ensure that
These colourful birds often stun their prey by beating it
their young have a ready supply of food, exactly where
against the ground or a favourite stone. Occasionally,
they need it most – in the nest.
larger animals are subdued by repeated pecking.
Myths and magic
Despite their unsavoury habits, hoopoes have inspired
story-tellers and myth makers for thousands of years.
In Ancient Egypt these unmistakable birds were
reputedly kept as pets, and they crop up with charming
regularly in tomb paintings. On the walls of the flat-
topped mastaba of Mereruka at Saqqara, for instance, a
hoopoe’s nest is shown balanced on a papyrus petal. In the
fantastic garden scene, painted on the tomb of
Khnumhotep III at Beni Hasan, there’s an even lovelier
image of a hoopoe, shown in vivid, living colours perched
on an acacia tree.
In Greek myth, the hoopoe features in many stories,
Hoopoes prefer to hunt on the ground,where food is
including the tragic tale of Tereus, Procne and Philomele.
more plentiful. Insect larvae are their main prey, but even
In this grim legend,Tereus rapes his wife’s sister,
lizards are easily dealt with.
Philomele, and then cuts out her tongue to ensure her
silence. Philomele manages to smuggle a message to her
sister, and together the women plot a hideous revenge.
Killing Tereus’ own son, they feed the boy’s flesh to him
during a night of drunken revelry. Enraged,Tereus attacks
the women, but the gods intervene, changing all three into
birds. Procne becomes a nightingale, forever singing a song
of mourning for her dead son. Philomele becomes a
swallow.And Tereus spends eternity being mocked as the
showy but slightly comical hoopoe, the bird’s crest
reminding all who see it of his royal status.
In contrast, Farid ud-Din (1146-1221) immortalized the
hoopoe as the wisest of all birds in his classic sequence of
Iranian poems, The Conference of the Birds. Perhaps the most
The hoopoe’s downwards-curved bill is an especially
telling reference to this stinky creature, though, comes
useful ‘tool’.It can grow up to 5cm (2in) long – ideal for
from the Old Testament. Leviticus 11.13-19 and
probing the earth for food.
Deuteronomy 14:11 list all the animals that are considered
unclean to eat, including the hoopoe.Which, when you
consider its dirty habits, makes very good sense indeed!

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.