1.
Speaking of strange creatures on the earth, which species do you think of first?
Perhaps one or two will pop up in everyone's mind. Some people would say that he is "Brother Flathead". He is indifferent to life and death and will do it if he doesn't accept it. This is undoubtedly the highest praise for Brother Flathead.
Some people would also say that it is a giant panda. It can obviously rely on its strength to make a living, but it has to rely on being cute. However, among birds, there is a creature that is so weird that it will definitely subvert your three views, and this creature is the hoopoe .
I believe most people will find this name extremely unfamiliar. But don’t worry, next, let’s talk about this strange existence in this big family of birds.
2.
The hoopoe is also called the mountain monk , the cockscomb , and the flower fan. Among the people, most people prefer to call it the coffin bird. Mainly distributed in Europe, Asia, and Africa, it can be said that the distribution range around the world is quite wide.
The hoopoe bird has a very distinctive appearance, with a comb-like thing on its head. The beak is not only long but also pointed, very similar to the woodpecker . Many people mistake hoopoe and woodpecker without looking carefully. However, the living habits of the two are completely different. The main activity range of the woodpecker is in trees. The main advantage of the hoopoe is not the range, but the ground.
3.
Everyone who sees a hoopoe bird for the first time will have a deep feeling, that is, it smells bad. According to the information, most birds are actually very clean, and their nests are spotless. But hoopoe birds are completely different. They use their nests as toilets.
In the process of raising offspring, the feces of the chicks accumulates in the nest for a long time. Not only that, the Hoopoe bird's body also secretes an oily substance that is dark brown and smells like rotten meat.
What is even more unacceptable is that the hoopoe bird will smear this black oily substance on the eggs or chicks. One can imagine what kind of smell the entire nest will smell like if this smell continues to ferment in the hot summer? To describe it as poisonous gas is no exaggeration.
4.
In fact, the reason for doing this is not because the hoopoe bird itself likes it, but to better protect its offspring. The hoopoe usually robs the nests of other birds because it is not good at building nests of its own.
However, the nests of other birds must be closely related to their own living habits, and the hoopoe bird's robbery of other people's nests is naturally contrary to its own living habits, which makes it easy to attract the attention of their natural enemies.
For this reason, they can only be forced to make their nests stink to the sky, in order to drive away those nasty natural enemies. At the same time, there is a special bacteria in the odor of the hoopoe bird, which can be regarded as a natural antibiotic and has a good protective effect on the bird eggs.
5.
Faced with such a strange bird, you may never imagine that Israel has adopted the hoopoe as its national bird. So what is going on?
The reason is very simple. Although the hoopoe bird's living habits are unacceptable, its appearance is indeed very beautiful, and it is also particularly hard-working. Most of the hoopoe's diet consists of insects that are harmful to crops. Coupled with the fact that they hunt prey very frequently, they can be said to be the biggest guardians of crops.
In addition to these, the hoopoe bird also adheres to monogamy and satisfies people's fantasy of beautiful love. When all these advantages are brought together, they naturally cover up its tendency to like bad odors. Therefore, among the people, the hoopoe is often a symbol of good luck.
