Gill's Hoopoe



One of the many things I discovered in reading AA Gill's obituary in The Times is that he left a stuffed Hoopoe behind in his London home.

Now I don't know why he kept a stuffed Hoopoe amongst his personal possessions, but it struck me that I might be one of the few people to know offhand what a Hoopoe is - a rather odd looking yet beautiful bird which can be found across Afro-Eurasia.

I know this because I saw one win Spain recently and made a point of finding out what is was for myself and it's 'Sunday' name is Upupa epops which is Latin and Ancient Greek respectively.

  

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