# The hoopoe bird came rapping at my chamber door **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553 "2016-01-29T05:44:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/21 "2018-02-01T16:26:26Z")
That’s adorable. But I doubt it’s actually a bird; it looks more like a [Pokémon](http://pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/Ho-Oh) that escaped into real life. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/22 "2018-02-01T19:06:55Z")
Beautiful birds! We have to settle for [wrens](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNKKuHAxQIpaJq0aFA3cBf1Cy_N5KVnVlJmcjI66EqAGK0eWwgH7C0sZ2r6wy9gxQ?key=SFQtYnZ3RnlKU2YtWGkwNzJKUkwyM2F1SkRkaTB3) here; they are adorable and very curious. I can’t leave a door open anywhere - the house, the garage, even the car - or they’re inside hopping around. The roosting pockets in the picture were installed to keep them out of the hanging baskets on the porch and give them a little extra protection from the cold. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/23 "2018-02-02T19:38:16Z")
So (nearly) everyone has hoopoes except me? No fair! I’ve wanted to hang out with them longer! Here in my area, it’s nearly time for the northern flickers (the red-shafted variety here in the west) to come a-rap-rap-rapping. On metal siding, HVAC equipment, car roofs, anything that will make a big noise to attract the love of their life so they can get on with the business of making a family. Some people find it annoying. To me, it’s the music of Spring getting under way. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/24 "2018-02-02T20:08:46Z")
> [@Hopeful\_Crow](#): > > So (nearly) everyone has hoopoes except me? No fair! I’ve wanted to hang out with them longer! > > Here in my area, it’s nearly time for the northern flickers (the red-shafted variety here in the west) to come a-rap-rap-rapping. On metal siding, HVAC equipment, car roofs, anything that will make a big noise to attract the love of their life so they can get on with the business of making a family. Some people find it annoying. To me, it’s the music of Spring getting under way. It’s the red-bellied woodpeckers that do this here. The front gutters are a huge favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/25 "2018-02-03T02:24:46Z")
Hell with the birds, I want to see photos of **septimus** ’s garden. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/26 "2018-03-17T07:00:37Z")
We still see the hoopoes frequently; they still nest their young in the same corner of our house. There are several of them by now; at least five certainly: a few days ago we saw five grown hoopoes standing in a row near that nest! Did three young hatch at once? Are these older siblings come back to meet their new siblings? Did the original hoopoes fly off to visit cousins and invite them to enjoy my wife’s wonderful garden? The five hoopoes attracted our attention because they were making some sound, presumably to warn the young about a nearby crow. A few weeks ago, a rat snake was menacing a young hoopoe on the ground. Two adult hoopoes screeched, boldly confronting the snake to scare it away! Our dogs came to help. The hoopoes seem tame, getting along well with us and even our dogs (despite that our dogs do enjoy killing an occasional chicken. :eek: ) My wife’s beautiful garden also has squirrels, chameleons, and many species of bird and butterfly. Inside at laptop now, through the window I can see a rushfoil plant. I can’t see it now, but if I stand right next to that rushfoil and gently move some leaves I see a tiny hidden nest with tiny (sunbird?) eggs. (\* - No, we haven’t seen mama bird; just guess that only a very tiny bird could even approach this tiny hidden nest.) And there are at least a hundred species of plants around our house and along the driveway planted by my wife or her father. (Yes, I made an effort to count the species.) The rushfoil plants just mentioned are called “house plants” but are outside and two meters tall. Even more impressive is the “lucky bamboo” welcoming visitors at our gate. It’s also nominally a “house plant” but this one is huge, and amazes visitors in the know. (_Dracaena braunii_ is not a bamboo — it’s in the asparagus family! — but “lucky bamboo” is a common name for this _feng shui_ welcomer.) Our own plantings sprawl over an acre or two but do not include the _old orchard_ adjacent to my wife’s gardens where afore-mentioned crow lives (and where [my own little ghost story took place 23 years ago](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13321495&postcount=23)). The old orchard (mostly mangoes and coconuts) was already old when we built our house, and the old-time residents of our village call it เมืองลับแล, which might translate crudely as “hidden city.” When I Google that phrase and ask Chrome to translate [two of](https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=th&sp=nmt4&u=https://pantip.com/topic/32182168&xid=25657,15700022,15700105,15700124,15700149,15700168,15700186,15700201&usg=ALkJrhgSjj_sIP7RcG8ikEg59331BHkbXA) the [hits that result](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=th&u=https://www.thairath.co.th/content/501018&prev=search) I get > [@](#): > > Is there a real town? > I have no idea. > > This is the story of my grandmother. You said that you are a grandmother in Rayong (Rayong) for a long time and grandmother is still a child. That’s it. Far away, very prosperous. Neighbors must find the forest. One day, there were three people in the village disappearing. Without cause The villagers are rumored to be dead, but all of them are dead, and may even be killed by forest robbers. > > Over the past 3 years, the three mysterious disappearances. Come back together Why? Surprised and very suspicious I lost 3 years, but the three men made a puzzled reply. (What, we just went to the forest not only 3 hours only), and then argued for a long time. I found that the secret door that can connect to another city and then take people in the village secretly secret. More than 10 women in the village. > > In summary, everyone sees that there are secret doors, and people in town are dressed up like they do not like them. It is like a language that is enough to communicate with each other after a year. Kun Yai said that people have to go to each other in the village. A bit But there is a reason. Cause people know this secret more and more in the city, there are always lost things such as pots made of money, clothing, jewelry. > > One day, the secret of the villagers came out. It’s gone like a puzzle. Including the people in that city. It will disappear without any trace of the old pot that the people gave it… My wife is only selectively superstitious and says she likes living next to a เมืองลับแล ! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/27 "2018-03-17T17:37:39Z")
I thought all birds liked to look at their reflection. I have kept a few small birds and I always gave them access to a mirror. They spent hours pruning and singing to the mirror. But maybe birdy just likes you? It’s amazing it came right in your door. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/28 "2018-03-19T00:49:12Z")
Just saw a tiny bushtit yanking a bit of moss off a branch outside my window. That reminded me that there were two bushtit nests in our Douglas fir tree last year. I just checked and one of the nests is still there but the other had fallen apart over the winter. Apparently that happens more often than not. I suspect the intact nest won’t be reused but I hope another one will be built nearby. There’s a crow’s nest across the street in an ornamental cherry tree, which is flowering just now. It’s the first nest I’ve been able to positively identify as belonging to crows, even though it’s smaller than I would have expected. But I know female crows sometimes develop white patches on their wings from rubbing against the nest while incubating the eggs and caring for their young so I can see a tight fit would account for that. It’s also only about ten or twelve feet above the ground but the parents are very sneaky coming and going, so I guess it works out for them. I hope to see activity there very soon. Speaking of low nests, my sister has one that an Anna’s hummingbird built a couple of years ago. She spotted the mama bird building it near a trail in the woods that my sister likes to walk. It was only about five or six feet above the ground. She kept an eye on mama and the babies throughout the season. After they had fledged and my sister was sure none of them would return, she broke off a bit of the branch the nest was on and brought it home. What a lovely bit of work it is! Birds are such amazing creatures. I often give thanks that they’re here in this world. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/29 "2018-03-19T01:46:13Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I can’t see it now, but if I stand right next to that rushfoil and gently move some leaves I see a tiny hidden nest with tiny (sunbird?) eggs. (\* - No, we haven’t seen mama bird; just guess that only a very tiny bird could even approach this tiny hidden nest.) So is a sunbird a small nectar-feeder like a hummingbird? Upon Googling, there seem to be a lot of species of them, but I’d never heard of them until your post! One of our winter roosting pockets has now become a [nesting pocket for a house finch](https://photos.app.goo.gl/L4yJr8S6fehvTMZW2). We are awaiting results … ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/30 "2018-03-19T02:15:27Z")
Aww, **romansperson,** that finch is so cute peeking out like that. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/31 "2018-03-19T12:56:43Z")
I know very little about birds, and even needed help here just to identify the hoopoes several years ago! We have lots of pigeons on our roof, a 2nd species of dove/pigeon, egrets, crows, mynahs, lapwings, a bird we’ve tentatively identified as crow pheasant (in cuckoo family), and lots of other birds I can’t identify — Robins? wrens? jays? (We used to see bats and owls at night, but not for a few years.) > [@romansperson](#): > > So is a sunbird a small nectar-feeder like a hummingbird? Upon Googling, there seem to be a lot of species of them, but I’d never heard of them until your post! I thought it was hummingbird, but was corrected by a Doper in previous thread: Hummingbirds aren’t native to Asia so mine must be sunbirds. OTOH, many of our plants are non-native but have been spread by man; perhaps decorative birds have been spread by man as well? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/32 "2018-03-19T13:29:08Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I thought it was hummingbird, but was corrected by a Doper in previous thread: Hummingbirds aren’t native to Asia so mine must be sunbirds. OTOH, many of our plants are non-native but have been spread by man; perhaps decorative birds have been spread by man as well? Oh indeed - the late 1800s saw the [introduction of a number of foreign species of birds to the U.S](https://timeline.com/sparrows-invasive-species-america-9546e6a9e57e). Including starlings. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/33 "2018-03-19T19:23:18Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Oh indeed - the late 1800s saw the [introduction of a number of foreign species of birds to the U.S](https://timeline.com/sparrows-invasive-species-america-9546e6a9e57e). Including starlings. :smack: Thanks for the link. Fascinating story! The animated murmuration of starlings inspired me to find a [3-minute video of a spectacular murmuration.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY) Here’s [another murmuration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY) — the human residents might have thought they were living out a Hitchcok movie! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/34 "2018-03-19T20:04:16Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Thanks for the link. Fascinating story! The animated murmuration of starlings inspired me to find a [3-minute video of a spectacular murmuration.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY) > Here’s [another murmuration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY) — the human residents might have thought they were living out a Hitchcok movie! If you like those, you might like this one too - [it’s a series of shots of peregrine falcons](https://vimeo.com/195138825) trying to grab lunch out of those massive flocks. It shows how the shape of the flock changes as the birds try to avoid the predator. It’s one of the reasons murmurations happen. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553/35 "2018-03-20T12:41:06Z")
I came into this discussion confused as to why it was in MPSIMS, instead of Cafe Society, and was hoping for a rousing discussion on James Michener’s _The Source_. Highly disappointed. Carry on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hoopoe-bird-came-rapping-at-my-chamber-door/744553.md?page=1)