Hoopoe

I couldn't believe it when I looked out of my window this afternoon. I have never seen this bird before, it is a Hoopoe, and is a rare visitor. At first I thought it was a woodpecker, but the colour was wrong, luckily I had my camera nearby, as I was just about to go on a walk with it. It certainly is a beautiful bird, and was feasting on bugs in the garden, (he must have liked the newly mown lawn ;)).


This is from the RSPB website....'The hoopoe is an exotic looking bird that is the size of a mistle thrush. It has a pinkish-brown body, striking black and white wings, a long black downcurved bill, and a long pinkish-brown crest which it raises when excited. It does not breed in the UK, but as many as 100 birds can turn up in spring (mostly seen as single birds) as birds migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England'.