# Common hoopoe (*Upupa epops*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-hoopoe  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 65.5 g – 70.5 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 44 cm |
| Lifespan | 11.1 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 15.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5.7 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.5 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Bucerotiformes
- family: Upupidae
- genus: Upupa
- species: *Upupa epops* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Upupa palustris*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Common hoopoe (Upupa epops). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-hoopoe