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Common Hoopoe [Upupa epops]
They say hoopoes are common migrants in Korea during summer; however, my eyes never caught them in
reality until I was walking in the Tashitsho Dzong, Bhutan, this year.
But it was a too short observation and I
hope I would have more chances to meet them!
In the family Upupidae, there are only 2
species of birds: Common Hoopoe and Madagascar Hoopoe.
According to the Greek mythology, hoopoe
was initially a human, a Tharacian king Tereus, a husband of Procne. Even
though the queen was alive, he wanted another lady, Philomela who happend to be
a wife's sister. He forcefully took Philomela and cut her toungue out to keep
his crime in secret.
However, he didn't consider humans can
communicate with writen language. Philomela sent a letter to her sister, the
Queen Procne, who then decided to revenge on her husband's deed by serving
their own son's flesh (of course, after killing him).
Learning what his wife had done to him and
their son, he wanted to kill Procne but at that moment, Tereus, Procne, and
Philomela were turned into hoopoe, swallow, and nightingale, respectively.
So people believing this mythology thought
that the hoopoe's call "hoop, hoop" as "where! where?" and
the swallow's as Procne's mourning for the death of her own son. And the
mournful nightingale's song might be the lost voice of Philomela.
The story is not so decent for this gorgeous bird.
Luckily, hoopoes use a different language and I hope this silly humans' tale would not be delivered to hoopoe communities.
Luckily, hoopoes use a different language and I hope this silly humans' tale would not be delivered to hoopoe communities.
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