Botswana Birds - African Hoopoe

The birds we continue to see -- in our own backyard! amaze me! What a treat! (I'm becoming a bird-watcher.) This guy (or girl - not sure how to tell the difference between the male and female yet) is an African Hoopoe. Here's what my Beginner's Guide to Birds of Botswana says about this beautiful creature: "Fairly common throughout the country, the African Hoopoe is a well-known, russet-colored bird with a large black-tipped crest, and black and white wings and tail. It spends most of its time on the ground probing for insects with its sharp, down-curved bill.


When disturbed it lifts its head and raises its crest like a fan (like he did in the first picture!). Its call of hoop-hoop repeated several times, has given it its name." (Sadly, we haven't heard a sound from this species of bird.)

We have been blessed to see this bird - or this species of bird, in our backyard every day for the past 4 days. When the girls spot him they come running to me so I can get my camera.