They spend much time on the ground hunting insects and worms. That diet may have been among the reasons the Hoopoe is included on the Old Testament's list of unclean birds.

The word "dupe" was originally a French dialect word for a Hoopoe, which was applied to unintelligent people because the bird was considered to look stupid.

The nest tends to contain copious amounts of faeces and smell very foul as a protection against predators. Nesting hoopoes are capable of squirting fecal matter at intruders.

The Hoopoe was declared the national bird of the State of Israel since the 29th of May, 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe

"Hoopoes are capable of squirting fecal matter at intruders"