African Hoopoe

The African Hoopoe is sometimes considered a species, Upupa africana, or sometimes a subspecies of Upupa epops which also occurs in Europe and Asia. It is a bird that visits my garden a lot, probing the soil with its bill for beetle grubs like this one, or mole crickets or other insects. It is raising its crest here, but usually folds it back. In flight its bold black and white wing markings are very conspicuous. Coloured pencil.