This is a video about a young hoopoe, just out of the nest.
From Reuters:
Israel names biblically banned Hoopoe national birdThu May 29, 2008 11:22am EDT
JERUSALEM - It may not be kosher, but the Hoopoe was chosen Thursday as Israel’s national bird.
The Hoopoe, or “Duchifat” in Hebrew, is listed in the Old Testament as unclean and forbidden food for Jews.
President Shimon Peres declared the pink, black and white-crested bird the winner of a competition timed to coincide with Israel’s 60th anniversary. It beat out rivals such as the Yellow-vented Bulbul and the Palestine Sunbird.
The Book of Leviticus groups the Hoopoe with birds such as the eagle, vulture and pelican that are “abhorrent, not to be eaten.”
Israel is a main crossroads for birds migrating between Europe and Africa. Some 155,000 Israelis cast ballots in the national bird vote.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Julian Rake and Ibon Villelabeitia)
Israel chooses Eurasian Hoopoe as its National Bird - Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops has been awarded the title of Israel’s National Bird by President Shimon Peres. The colourful bird will be celebrated with the issue of new coins and stamps. The initiative to choose a national bird in Israel began two years before the celebrations for Israel’s 60th birthday by the Israel Ornithological Center, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (BirdLife in Israel) and the International Center for the Study of Bird Migration. The ‘National Bird election’ events helped to raise public awareness of nature conservation and the protection of birds and their habitats.
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/04/news_byte_7.html
Comment by Administrator — April 8, 2009 @ 1:38 pm