African bird blown off course lands in Northern Ireland – with big hair-do, photos show

Irene Wright
Updated ·2 min read
29

At the end of March, photos started circulating on social media that shocked bird enthusiasts across Northern Ireland.

One birder, Alison Livingstone, went to see for herself.

The hoopoe is known for its iconic hair-do and black and white stripes
The hoopoe is known for its iconic hair-do and black and white stripes

Hoopoes are an iconic bird, native to grasslands, savannas and woodlands in parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, according to the National Audubon Society.

Mentioned in the Quran, according to the National Audobon Society, hoopoes make an annual journey from regions across the African continent to Europe to breed, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said.

Rarely, a hoopoe can be blown off course.

This hoopoe was spotted in Comber, County Down, Northern Ireland, Deadline News reported, over 500 miles north of where the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said they are sometimes seen in the U.K.

Livingstone shared photos of the hoopoe, catching its iconic white strips and head plumage, mimicking a member of a rock band with a large mohawk.

The hoopoe spent a few days in a Northern Ireland neighborhood before taking off again.
The hoopoe spent a few days in a Northern Ireland neighborhood before taking off again.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said around 100 of these golden-brown birds “migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England.”

They are almost never seen farther north.

“He was amazing,” Livingstone said in her post.

The bird marked only the 19th sighting of a hoopoe in the area of Northern Ireland since 1860, as reported by Deadline News.

Livingstone told Deadline News that she had seen posts of the bird on social media and wanted to try and see the bird for herslf. She said there were other bird enthusiasts trying to get their eye on the little traveler, and the bird stuck around the area for about five days, Deadline News reported.

Hoopoes migrate from regions across the African continent to Europe each year.
Hoopoes migrate from regions across the African continent to Europe each year.

Livingstone’s post received hundreds of comments, some sharing their own experiences with the striking birds.

“Lived in Malawi as a kid and they were very common,” one comment read. “(Their) call is very distinctive and you know why they are called Hoopoe.”

“I see a lot of these when on holiday in Tenerife but I’ve never been lucky enough to see one with its crest up,” another read.

Responding to a comment on her post, Livingstone said she used to live in France and had seen them regularly.

But “when we came back to (Northern Ireland), I ‘knew’ I’d never see one again,” she said.

“Never say never, I guess!” Livingstone wrote.

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