Hoopoe

Upupa epops

Order: Bucerotiformes
Family: Upupidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: scarce
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Abubilla

Photograph: Luiz Lapa, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 26–28 cm
Wingspan: 42–46 cm
Weight: 67 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce summer visitor of open areas with trees, very common during migration. Wintering birds occur mainly on the Eastern side of the study area.

Identification

Buffy-pink breast and upperparts; long slightly decurved bill; characteristic crest with black tips that the bird raises when excited. In flight, distinct black and white pattern on wings and tail.

Movements

Throughout the whole year with peaks in 2nd hf. March and 2nd hf. August.

Ring recoveries

Switzerland (1). Abubilla Coraciidae ad. ad. Carraca Europea Upupidae Abubilla

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

29 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 29 July 1969
Latest record: 5 April 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

1 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Switzerland1

See the journey on the map

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Bucerotiformes
Family: Upupidae
GBIF taxon key: 2498415

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Luiz Lapa, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Hoopoe

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery