In the decades since
Webster first noted the joy of the Hoopoe's crest, the
genealogy of birds would seem to have changed. Of course,
lumping and
splitting is a
favourite pastime of some
birders but in this
era the genera Upupa has just one species - Epops.
Almost as pleasurable as the Hoopoe's crest is its colour scheme. The bird has a pinky-brown body with black and white striped wings. The crest is of black feathers with white tips. Overall, the bird is of a similar size to a city (feral) pigeon but has a much longer, down curved bill.
The Hoopoe can be found in the northern sub-tropical band of the Old World - i.e. both sides of the Mediterranean and across the Middle East and the Indian sub-contintent.