# has anyone seen this bird?



## noserhodes (Sep 13, 2011)

hi all can anyone enlighten me on the following?
yesterday i spotted a bird outdoors the like of which i have never seen before, although it may turn out to be more common than i realise. it was around half the size of lets say a pigeon, with a bright yellow chest and black and white striped zebra wings with a mohican on its head!!!!.
really really beautiful but what was it?.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

I think it may be a Hoopoe, did it have a large long beak?

They are a migratory bird and I found one in our yard in Belgium once, I'll try and dig a pic up.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Was it like this?


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## noserhodes (Sep 13, 2011)

yes thankyou thats the one.
are they a common sight or rare to see, the one i saw did have a brighter yellow chest but def the same bird, on first sight i thought it must have escaped from someones aviary


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Yeah as I recall it was more vibrant but the pic isn't great, the Sun was shining in the camera and it was taken through grubby double glazed windows.

I have no idea how common they are, I have only seen the one and like you was amazed by it. It's a very pretty bird.
According to wiki they are not endangered and fly north for breeding but they say there is a resident population in the south of Portugal.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

FWIW, we see a fair number in my area close to Figueiro dos Vinhos and saw even more when we lived in Africa.

I don't have any connection with the site but this might be of interest: Aves de Portugal - O Portal dos Observadores de Aves


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## coati (Sep 12, 2012)

Hi all from Ourique in the beautiful Alentejo.

Lots of Hoopoes here, having said that they are not so easy to get close too! For photographers the quest is to get with the crest raised!
Heres a pic from a few days ago.

Rich
Avian Photographer


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## Micksantacruz (Dec 1, 2012)

noserhodes said:


> hi all can anyone enlighten me on the following?
> yesterday i spotted a bird outdoors the like of which i have never seen before, although it may turn out to be more common than i realise. it was around half the size of lets say a pigeon, with a bright yellow chest and black and white striped zebra wings with a mohican on its head!!!!.
> really really beautiful but what was it?.


Are these the birds we see standing on the backs of sheep ? Collecting insects


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## coati (Sep 12, 2012)

Hi

You mean this one? a Cattle Egret
Never seen a Hoopoe do this!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I agree, they are Hoopoes, quite common near here in Spain and thay are an occasional visitor to Southern England. I first saw mention of one when I was a kid in an old (c1892) book about birds but never actually saw one until a couple of years ago and there were about a half dozen! (They do say that it never rains but it pours!)


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