Green Wood Hoopoe
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| Phoeniculus purpureus (J.F. Miller, 1784) |
The Green Wood Hoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus is a large, up to 44cm long, near-passerine tropical birds native to Africa. It is a member of the family Phoeniculidae, the wood hoopoes formerly known as Red-billed Wood Hoopoe .
The Green Wood Hoopoe is a common resident breeder in the forests and woodlands of most of sub-Saharan Africa. The female lays two to four blue eggs in a tree hole.
This abundant species is metallic dark green, with a purple back and very long purple tail. It has white markings on the wings and tail sides. It has a long thin curved red bill. Sexes are similar, but immatures have a black bill.
The Green Wood Hoopoe is an insect-eating species. It feeds mainly on the ground, termite mounds or on tree trunks, and will form flocks outside the breeding season.
This conspicuous bird also advertises its presence with its noisy Kuk-uk-uk-uk-uk call.
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the Green Wood Hoopoe is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Phoeniculus purpureus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
