The green wood hoopoe (''Phoeniculus purpureus'') is a large, up to long,

near-passerine Near passerines and higher land-bird assemblage are terms of traditional, pre-cladistic taxonomy that have often been given to tree-dwelling birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes) owing to mor ...

tropical bird native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is a member of the family Phoeniculidae, the

wood hoopoe The wood hoopoes or scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence show ...

s, and was formerly known as the red-billed wood hoopoe.

Description

This abundant species is a metallic dark green, with a purple back and very long diamond-shaped purple tail. Distinctive white markings on the wings and white chevrons on the tail edges make it easily identifiable, as does its long, thin, curved red bill. Sexes are similar, but immatures have a black bill.

Food and foraging

The green wood hoopoe is an insect-eating species. It feeds mainly on the ground, at

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

mounds, or on tree trunks, and forms flocks outside the breeding season. Its specialised claws enable it to cling easily to the underside of branches while closely inspecting the bark for insects.

Calls

This conspicuous bird advertises its presence with its loud ''kuk-uk-uk-uk-uk'' call and other vocalisations.

Breeding

The green wood hoopoe is a

cooperative breeder Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group s ...

and common resident in the forests, woodlands and suburban gardens of most of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. It is found in groups of up to a dozen or so birds with only one breeding pair. The breeding female lays two to four blue eggs in a natural tree hole or old barbet nest and incubates them for about 18 days. On hatching, she and the nestlings are fed by the rest of the group, even after they have fledged and left the nest hole. The group is fearless in defence of the nestlings against intruders. This species is parasitised by the greater and

lesser honeyguide The lesser honeyguide (''Indicator minor'') is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. Range It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Rep ...

.Roberts Bird Guide (2007)

Status

Widespread and common throughout its large range, the green wood hoopoe is assessed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of Threatened Species.

Gallery

Green Wood Hoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus, at uMkhuze Game Reserve, kwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (15435516825).jpg, Chattering family group Green Woodhoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) - Flickr - Lip Kee (5).jpg, Chattering and displaying Green Woodhoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) - Flickr - Lip Kee (7).jpg, In flight Phoeniculus purpureus01.jpg, Feeding at aloe flowers in winter Phoeniculus purpureus00.jpg, Immature fledgling with black bill peeking from old barbet hole Green wood-hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus).jpg, ''P. p. niloticus'' at

Lake Baringo Lake Baringo is, after Lake Turkana, the most northern of the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, with a surface area of and an elevation of . The lake is fed by several rivers: the Molo, Perkerra and Ol Arabel. It has no obvious outlet; the waters ar ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

References

* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley,

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
* Redbilled woodhoopoe �
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Photograph of a Green Woodhoopoe
{{Taxonbar, from=Q811583

green wood hoopoe The green wood hoopoe (''Phoeniculus purpureus'') is a large, up to long, near-passerine tropical bird native to Africa. It is a member of the family Phoeniculidae, the wood hoopoes, and was formerly known as the red-billed wood hoopoe. Descr ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa