Afghanistan (B), Albania (B), Algeria, Andorra (B), Angola, Armenia (B), Austria (B), Azerbaijan (B), Bahrain (B), Bangladesh (B), Belarus (B), Belgium (B), Benin, Bhutan (B), Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Botswana, Bulgaria (B), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia (B), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland) (B), Congo, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus (B), Czech Republic (B), Denmark (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia (B), Ethiopia, France (B) (P), Gabon, Gambia, Georgia (B), Germany (B), Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece (B) (P), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B), India (B), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (B) (P), Israel (B), Italy (B) (NB) (P), Jordan (B) (NB) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos (B), Latvia (B), Lebanon (B), Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania (B), Luxembourg (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B), Malawi, Malaysia (B), Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova [Republic of] (B), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal (B), Netherlands (B), Niger, Nigeria, North Korea (B), Oman (B), Pakistan (B), Poland (B), Portugal (B) (NB), Qatar, Romania (B), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia (B), Senegal, Serbia (B), Sierra Leone, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (B), Somalia, South Africa, South Korea (B), Spain (B) (NB), Sri Lanka (B), Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden (B), Switzerland (B), Syrian Arab Republic (B), Taiwan (China), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand (B), Togo, Tunisia, Turkey (B), Turkmenistan (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B), United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam (B), Yemen (B), Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Brunei Darussalam, Cape Verde, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan (B), Maldives, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Philippines, Seychelles, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, United Kingdom (B), USA.
From Scandanavia to Russian Far East, wintering Africa, southern and south-eastern Asia, China.
Population
Estimated population is 5,000,000 (2010).
Subspecies
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) and African Hoopoe (Upupa africana) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Upupa epops, but Madagascar Hoopoe (Upupa marginata) has been split from this taxon following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
North-western Indian Subcontinent population sometimes separated as subspecies orientalis, but now generally regarded as inseparable from nominate. Paler birds in southern and eastern South Africa sometimes separated as subspecies minor, but validity requires confirmation.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
epops Linnaeus, 1758 - North-western Africa, Canary Is and Europe east to south-central Russia (Ob-Yenisey watershed), north-western China (Sinkiang) and north-western India.
major Brehm, CL, 1855 - Egypt, northern Sudan and eastern Chad (Ennedi).
senegalensis Swainson, 1837 - Southern Algeria (Ahaggar), and dry belt from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Somalia. Sometimes treated as a full species, Central African Hoopoe (Upupa senegalensis). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Central African Hoopoe (Upupa senegalensis).
waibeli Reichenow, 1913 - Cameroon and northern Zaire east to Uganda and northern Kenya.
africana Bechstein, 1811 - Widespread. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, African Hoopoe (Upupa africana).
marginata Cabanis and Heine, 1860 - Madagascar. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Madagascar Hoopoe (Upupa marginata).
saturata Lönnberg, 1909 - South-central Russia (east of R Yenisey) east to Japan, and south to central China and Tibet.
ceylonensis Reichenbach, 1853 - Plains of Pakistan and northern India south to Sri Lanka.
longirostris Jerdon, 1862 - Assam and Bangladesh east to southern China, and south to northern Malay Peninsula and Indochina.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet