WOOD HOOPOE

also called kakelaar any of 6 species of tropical African birds of the family Phoeniculidae (order Coraciiformes). Sometimes they are placed in the hoopoe family, Upupidae. Ranging in length from 22 to 38 cm (8.5 to 15 inches), all are predominately greenish or purplish black with long, graduated tails, sometimes tipped with white. The bill is slender, pointed, and slightly to strongly downcurved. The two species of Rhinopomastus are often called scimitarbills, or scimitar-billed hoopoes, from the shape of the bill.