Hoopoe legends

Recently we have a new bird - hoopoe. Before that, I had never dealt with these birds. That's why the first thing I did was consult with the ornithologist how to take care of this bird correctly. I also began to look for additional information. It turned out that hoopoe is the object of many legends and beliefs. Most of them are related to the appearance of this bird, in particular, the presence of feathers on its head in the form of a fan. The second distinctive feature of hoopoe is its ability to produce a sharp unpleasant odor.

One of the legends (Volyn, Ukraine) says that a tuft on his head and an unpleasant smell is his punishment for pride. In ancient times hoopoe was the king of birds. But he decided that it was not enough for him and wanted to be a bird god. For this he was punished.

In Transcarpathia (Ukraine) it is believed that the hoopoe was punished with an unpleasant smell for giving the hiding Christ to his pursuers.

The folklore of the peoples of the Caucasus tells the legend of the appearance of a tuft on the head of a hoopoe. I must say that in ancient times a woman could not be shown to outsiders with uncovered heads. One day the father-in-law found his daughter-in-law when she combed her hair. Because of the shame that the father-in-law saw her with her head uncovered, the girl asked to turn her into a bird, and the comb remained stuck in her hair and turned into a hoopoe.

Another legend tells that the hoopoe was punished by King Solomon. One day the beloved of the King Solomon asked him to build a house of eggs for her. The king ordered all the birds and fish to bring their eggs. All have done this, except for the sparrow and hoopoe. Solomon ordered these birds to come to him with explanations. Sparrow, when he appeared before the king, said that he did not dare to bring his egg, because it was too small.
Hoopoe said that he was thinking about important questions: "What is longer - night or day?", "Whom there are more - alive or dead?" men or women? ". As a result, he decided that the day is longer than the night, since the light of the moon prolongs it. There are more alive, because people speak about people who died recently or about great people as if they were still alive. And there are more women than men, because a fool who wants to build a house of eggs is not a man.

One of the legends in Morocco, on the contrary, says that the hoopoe was a loving son. When his mother died, he could not bury her in the ground, and began to wear on his head. As a result, the mother turned into his tuft, and the hoopoe got an unpleasant smell.

I've found these legends here http://greenbelarus.info/articles/06-01-2016/7-udivitelnyh-faktov-pro-udoda-pticu-2016-goda-v-rossii