Common hoopoe
Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758
The common hoopoe (Upupa epops), also called hoopoe or Eurasian hoopoe, is a bird in the family Upupidae and the order Bucerotiformes. It is a small bird with a representative adult body mass of 66.93 g and a wingspan of 44 cm.
Quick facts about the common hoopoe
The common hoopoe is a migratory, terrestrial invertivore whose habitat is grassland, with a geographic range of 46,880,000 km². Clutches hold 5.7 eggs on average, with 1.5 clutches per year and an incubation period of 15.5 days; the species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 65.5 g – 70.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 44 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 11.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 15.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.7src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common hoopoe?
Photos of the common hoopoe
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common hoopoe live?
Not recorded
What is the common hoopoe?
The common hoopoe or Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops) is the most widespread species of hoopoe. It is a distinctive cinnamon coloured bird with black and white wings, a tall erectile crest, a broad white band across a black tail, and a long narrow downcurved bill. Its call is a soft "oop-oop-oop".
The common hoopoe is native to Europe, Asia and Africa. It is migratory in the northern part of its range. Some ornithologists consider the Madagascar hoopoe (U. marginata) as a subspecies. The African hoopoe, subspecies U. e. africana, has sometimes been treated as a separate species.
From the Wikipedia article “Common hoopoe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_hoopoe&oldid=1383032059), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common hoopoe sound like?
Is the common hoopoe endangered?
The common hoopoe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common hoopoe classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderBucerotiformes
- familyUpupidae
- genusUpupa
- SpeciesUpupa epops Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Upupa palustris
Other names and names in other languages (137)
- COHOEnglish
- Eurasian hoopoeEnglish
- Eurasian hoopoeEnglish
- Eurasian hoopoeEnglish
- HoopoeEnglish
- HoephoepAfrikaans
- WidhapfAlbanian
- الهدهدArabic
- PorputAragonese
- pupaAsturian
- bubiellaAsturian
- ФефAvaric
- гьудгьудAvaric
- эпъэпъAvaric
- эфэфAvaric
- ŞanapipikAzerbaijani
- ҺөҙһөтBashkir
- Wut-WutBavarian
- ПапунякBulgarian
- মোহনচূড়াBangla
- པུ་ཤུད།Tibetan
- HouperigBreton
- Kogenan-houperBreton
- PuputCatalan
- puput comunaCatalan
- H̗uttutChechen
- ХыркукChuvash
- PuppusgiulaCorsican
- dudek chocholatýCzech
- CopogWelsh
- CopogionWelsh
- HærfuglDanish
- WiedehopfGerman
- HophopıkZaza
- HupacLower Sorbian
- འདྲེ་ཏོག་ཟེམDzongkha
- ΤσαλαπετεινόςGreek
- Eŭrazia upupoEsperanto
- ordinara upupoEsperanto
- AbubillaSpanish
- Abubilla comúnSpanish
- toonetuttEstonian
- vaenukäguEstonian
- vaenukägu e. toonetuttEstonian
- Argi-oilarBasque
- هدهدPersian
- harjalintuFinnish
- HerfuglurFaroese
- Huppe fasciéeFrench
- Huppe d'EuropeFrench
- WiiduuNorthern Frisian
- HûpeWestern Frisian
- HúpúIrish
- Calman cathaidhScottish Gaelic
- BubelaGalician
- Ushag ny thorranManx
- KahuhuHausa
- דוכיפתHebrew
- हुदहुदHindi
- HupakUpper Sorbian
- búbosbankaHungarian
- ՀոպոպArmenian
- Hupo tunggalIndonesian
- Burung hud-hudIndonesian
- UpupoIdo
- HerfuglIcelandic
- UpupaItalian
- ヤツガシラJapanese
- ოფოფიGeorgian
- Кööк адайыkjh
- БәбісекKazakh
- ಚಂದ್ರಮುಕುಟKannada
- 후투티Korean
- Silêmanê dunikulKurdish
- HoopooCornish
- Сасык үпүпKyrgyz
- MitockLuxembourgish
- чІуру кукупІLezghian
- HoephapLimburgish
- kukutisLithuanian
- pupuķisLatvian
- BaraoMalagasy
- шалавуйMari
- пупунецMacedonian
- ഉപ്പൂപ്പൻMalayalam
- Daqquqa tat-ToppuMaltese
- ӨвөөлжMongolian
- တောင်ဘီစုတ်ငှက်Burmese
- ПичекивгеErzya
- PuupvagelLow German
- HopDutch
- Huppenrm
- ପାନିଆ ପତ୍ରୀOdia
- ДыгоппонOssetic
- ਸ਼ਿਕਰਾPunjabi
- Bout-boutPicard
- dudekPolish
- PupùPiedmontese
- چک چکیراWestern Panjabi
- poupaPortuguese
- poupa-comumPortuguese
- poupa-eurasiáticaPortuguese
- Cot da matgRomansh
- PupăzăRomanian
- УдодRussian
- ДудокRusyn
- PipituniSicilian
- RoavgogonagasNorthern Sami
- rávgogonagasNorthern Sami
- dudok chochlatýSlovak
- smrdokavraSlovenian
- PupëAlbanian
- PupëzaAlbanian
- PupavacSerbian
- ПупавацSerbian
- Пупавац / PupavacSerbian
- PubusaSardinian
- härfågelSwedish
- HudihudiSwahili
- கொண்டலாத்திTamil
- นกกะรางหัวขวานThai
- HüthütTurkish
- Baltalı KuşuTurkish
- Çavuş KuşuTurkish
- Hüdhüd KuşuTurkish
- İbibikTurkish
- ИтпикTuvinian
- ОдудUkrainian
- одуд євразійськийUkrainian
- ہد ہدUrdu
- Gaza bubaVenetian
- Đầu rìuVietnamese
- HoepentoepWest Flemish
- הופּהופּYiddish
- האָפּהאָפּYiddish
- 戴勝Chinese
- 戴胜Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common hoopoe
Other species in the same genus Upupa.
CompareCommon hoopoe vs St Helena hoopoeCommon hoopoe vs Madagascan hoopoeCommon hoopoe vs African hoopoeCommon hoopoe vs Upupa paradisea
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common hoopoe?
The common hoopoe is a bird in the family Upupidae, order Bucerotiformes. It is a small, terrestrial, migratory species.
How much does a common hoopoe weigh?
An adult common hoopoe has a representative body mass of 66.93 g, with reported values from 65.5 to 70.45 g.
What does the common hoopoe eat?
The common hoopoe is an invertivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the common hoopoe endangered?
No. The common hoopoe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a common hoopoe live?
The lifespan given for the common hoopoe is 11.1 years.
How many eggs does the common hoopoe lay?
A clutch holds 5.7 eggs on average, with 1.5 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 15.5 days.
When does the common hoopoe reach sexual maturity?
The common hoopoe reaches sexual maturity at 364.6 days, or 1 year.
Who named the common hoopoe?
The scientific name Upupa epops was given by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common hoopoe (Upupa epops). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-hoopoe
“Common hoopoe (Upupa epops).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-hoopoe.
@misc{common_hoopoe_2026,
title = {Common hoopoe (Upupa epops)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-hoopoe},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}