The Hoopoe's Smelly Family

The Eurasian Hoopoe isn’t picky about where it nests. But whether it builds a home in a tree cavity, termite mound, or nest box, it’ll be stinky. Mother birds coat their eggs in an antimicrobial secretion that smells like rotten eggs. Then, when the chicks are hatched, they paint the nest cavity with their poop. They even use it as a projectile to ward off predators. Changing diapers doesn’t seem so bad in comparison.

BirdNote^®

The Hoopoe’s Smelly Family

Written by Richa Malhotra

This is BirdNote.
[Eurasian Hoopoe call, https://www.xeno-canto.org/560369, 0.02-.06]
The Eurasian Hoopoe (HOO-poo) is a striking cinnamon-colored bird with black-and-white wings and a mohawk. It breeds in Asia, Africa and Europe. And it’s not picky when it comes to nesting. A tree cavity, rock crevice or termite mound with a hole will do. Or, put out a nest box, and the Hoopoe will take to it! But you might want to think twice about doing that when you find out how stinky these birds can be.
[Eurasian Hoopoe call, https://www.xeno-canto.org/560369, 0.02-.06]
When freshly laid, Hoopoe eggs smell like, well, eggs. But soon the mama bird uses her beak to coat the eggs in a secretion produced in her oil gland that gives the eggs a rotten stink. The smelly substance has antimicrobial properties that protect the developing embryos from bacterial infections.
As if the smell of rotten eggs wasn’t bad enough, the newly hatched chicks paint the nest cavity with their poop. It gets messy in there.
But the chicks grow up fast. At just six days old, they can harness the power of their poop. When a predator shows up at the nest, the chicks turn around and shoot a projectile of poop onto the intruder.
[splat sound from poop-02b)
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
[Eurasian Hoopoe call, https://www.xeno-canto.org/560369, 0.02-.06]
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by Xeno-Canto.org. Recorded by Stanislas Wroza
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote January 2021 Narrator: Michael Stein