Hoopoe, Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve, Germany

© Slawek Staszczuk/Alam

Hoopoe

This colourful bird feeding its young is a called a hoopoe, a medium-sized bird that can be found across Africa, Asia and Europe. The hoopoe has a distinctive pinky-brown crest on its head, which it raises when excited or alarmed. Its black and white striped wings are broad and rounded in flight. It also has a long, thin and slightly downward curved beak. The diet of the hoopoe consists mainly of insects and their larvae. This bird was photographed in the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The hoopoe was named 'Bird of the Year' in Germany in 2022.