African Hoopoe ( Upupa africana, family: Upupidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Hoopoe

african hoopoe kruger national park birds The African Hoopoe (Latin name Upupa africana) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 451 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 160 also a picture of it on page 161. The African Hoopoe belongs to the family of birds classified as Upupidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the bird was called the Hoopoe. The Robert's 7 Latin name for African Hoopoe has changed from Upupa epops in Robert's 6 to Upupa africana.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The African Hoopoe is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the African Hoopoe in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. African Hoopoe : see above distribution map.

The African Hoopoe.

African Hoopoe Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The African Hoopoe is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the African Hoopoe is about 26 cms and its weight is about 57 gms

You will find that the male African Hoopoe plumage and colours are different to that of the female African Hoopoe

  • Head is cinnamon.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is cinnamon.
  • Back is cinnamon.
  • Legs are grey.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The African Hoopoe feeds on the ground mainly on invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The African Hoopoe is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Upupa africana will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of African Hoopoe is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 4 to 7

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for African Hoopoe are: woodlands and grasslands

You will not see African Hoopoe in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ubhobhoyi

Zulu ... umZolozolo/uZiningweni

Afrikaans ...Hoephoep

German ... Wiedehopf

Portuguese ... Poupa

French ... Huppe d'Afrique

Dutch ... Hop

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 451

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za