🐦 The Hoopoe: Israel's National Bird

In 2008, Israel chose a national bird. Thousands of people voted, and the winner was the hoopoe. In Hebrew, its name is duchifat.

The hoopoe is easy to recognize. It has orange-brown feathers, black and white stripes on its wings, and a long, thin beak. On its head, it has a crown of feathers. When the bird is excited or afraid, the crown opens like a fan.

Hoopoes live in fields, parks and gardens all over Israel. They walk on the ground and use their long beaks to look for insects and worms in the soil. Their call sounds like "oop-oop-oop," and that is how the bird got its English name.