Hoopoe
Hoopoe (Upupa epops) perching on a tree with an insect in its beak. This bird occurs in open woodland from Central Europe to southern Africa and Asia. It walks about nodding its head like a pigeon, probing the soil for its insect prey. Once caught, the insect is beaten on the ground in order to knock off its hard legs, wings and head. Because of its rudimentary tongue, the hoopoe cannot move pieces of food to the back of its mouth. Instead, it flings the prey into the air and catches it in its open beak. Photographed in Waterberg Plateau Park, Namibia.
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