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Text: Vientiane hardcore
Edited by Vientiane hardcore
«——【Preamble】】 ——»
There is a bird that often rests on dead wood or tree trunks, and hits hard trees with its long, thin beak, which may be a woodpecker, and it may also be a hoopoe.
This name is thought to be a personal name, but in fact, it is a kind of bird, not only the scientific name "human-like", all kinds of aliases are also full of tricks, it is also called coo, stinky partridge, flower fan, fragrant chicken, coffin bird, auspicious bird.
What kind of bird is this? It can be said to be fragrant at one time, and stinky at another, is it auspicious or unlucky, and why is there such a big difference in people's perception of it?
«【"Xiangxiang chicken" that grew up in feces·]»
The hoopoe looks like a noble and beautiful bird, but in fact it is extremely unhygienic, making a mess in the house, defecating and defecating in the open, which does not match its delicate and beautiful appearance at all.
So why does it make itself stinky so much, and why is it called "fragrant chicken"?
Hoopoes are not very particular about personal hygiene, and they usually live in naturally occurring tree cavities, or in burrows abandoned by woodpeckers, and sometimes they can't find a suitable one, and they can barely live in the crevices of stones or dead grass piles on the ground.
In general, they do not build their own nests, their beaks are still different from woodpeckers, and the beaks of hoopoes are slightly curved, and they are not very good at pecking trees, so it is quite laborious for them to make a tree hole on their own.
After the hoopoe found a nest, he made a home in it, eating, drinking, and sleeping in one place, and the small tree hole was full of their droppings, and there was hardly a place to put his feet.
The hoopoes are so stinky, but some people still call them "fragrant chickens", which is actually a ridiculous nickname given to them by some people.
How did they endure such an environment, and the hoopoe feeds on insects, and if they eat meat for a long time, the smell of hoopoe feces will only be more violent, and they will not be smoked by their own feces to tears?
Moreover, the hoopoe's special habit of not liking cleanliness has also been passed down from generation to generation, and the young birds nest in the feces of their parents from birth.
The annual sting to the summer solstice is the breeding season for the hoopoes, and they appear in pairs.
The male will also compete for mates, while the female will stand by and watch, and she will eventually choose to mate with the winning team.
Normally, the hoopoe only breeds once a year, and can lay five to nine eggs at a time, and the hatching period is about half a month, these eggs have a light blue appearance, similar to duck eggs, but more elongated.
Once the eggs are laid, the females stay in the nest until all the cubs have hatched.
During the hatching period, the danger of survival of the female and the cub is greatly increased, and in order to better protect themselves and their young, the female hoopoe will secrete a special black oily liquid from its tail, which looks a bit like crude oil.
This liquid is extremely smelly, and the feces they excrete in the cave are simply stinking and smelling home.
After the cubs hatch successfully, the male and female hoopoes will feed the cubs together for about a month, at which point they have a large family of eight or nine, or even nine mouths of feces piled together, the taste is unimaginable.
But this practice is also advantageous, because the hoopoe makes their nest smelly, and the predators generally find it difficult to tolerate the smell, so they will not dare to approach the cave, so that they can protect the cave they have so hard found from being invaded.
During the breeding period, there is no concern about the safety of the young birds, and as long as the young birds stay in the hole, their lives are generally not in danger.
«【·“ Coffin Bird" and "Lucky Bird" ·]»
The name of the stinky partridge, the hoopoe is not wronged at all, but the reputation of the "coffin bird" is completely a misunderstanding.
The hoopoe is a bird of insects, and they often rummage through the ground for all kinds of insects and their eggs, so where are the most insects?
Beneath some of the thick piles of dead leaves, there are rotten trees, including untended weeds, which are common in graveyards and contain considerable insect numbers.
Over time, the hoopoe found its way, and often went to the cemetery to find food, and people saw it often appear in the cemetery, so they naturally associated it with "ominous", and gave it the name "coffin bird".
But in reality, it is just foraging, and it does not understand the special meaning given by humans.
In other respects, it is also known as the "auspicious bird" for the simple reason that it is a beneficial bird that feeds on pests in the fields.
Even in some ancient medical books and classics, it is still a Chinese herbal medicine, and some cannibals have become many famous poems written by it, which is endowed with a symbol of loyalty, and its name "hoopoe" reveals nobility and elegance from the inside out.
In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Sheng" is also interpreted as Yusheng, which is a delicate hair ornament made of jade worn by the Queen Mother of the West, so it is also known as a bird with auspicious meaning.
«【Simple Worker Under the Gorgeous Appearance】»
The hoopoe is worthy of its name, it has a particularly beautiful crest, and usually, the feather crest is put away, and it is brought together and bowed backwards.
When encountering delicious food or danger, its feather crown will be like a fan, spreading out on the top of the head, and there is a small black feather at the top of the feather, which looks very layered.
From a distance, it looks like a delicate girl or a noble son wearing "victory", hence the name "hoopoe".
The hoopoe is actually a more general name, and there is a very specific subspecies division under it, and there are currently eight known subspecies, and this bird is distributed throughout China.
The hoopoe mainly feeds on various insects, it likes to feed on locusts, stone flies, moths, etc., as well as their larvae, most of these insects are pests in the crop field, and the hoopoe can inhibit them.
Because of its wide range, it is now listed as an endangered species without concern, and it is an important three-haves animal in China, and it is also an animal protected by the state.
The hoopoe is also very particular when eating, it first uses its pointed and slender beak to "peck and peck" on the ground or on a tree, and then takes out the prey, and then throws it into the air, and smoothly receives the food and swallows it with its mouth open.
In addition, hoopoes are very fond of foraging on soft ground, and they will also eat some grass seeds, and some of the seeds that have not yet been digested will be excreted by the hoopoe during their flights, which can help plants reproduce effectively and expand their spread.
The hoopoe was also elected Israel's national bird in 2008 because of its conscientious and responsible treatment of offspring, its ability to get rid of pests, and its beautiful appearance.
The other candidates were rejected for a variety of reasons, such as lack of beauty, irritable temperament, and common names.
The hoopoe is a bird that combines many contradictions, but this is its living habits, whether it is smelly or fragrant, auspicious or unlucky, it is fighting for survival.
Reference:
Beijing Daily Network "Hoopoe Maverick Primrose", 2023-4-19
People's Information, "Shandong Qingzhou: Hoopoe Brooding Busy", 2021-7-5
China News Network, "Israel Chooses Hoopoe as National Bird to Protect the Environment and Celebrate National Day", May 30, 2008