The three now living species of Hoopoe (Upupidae) are colourful birds that are found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for their distinctive 'crown' of feathers. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is now extinct. The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names.

Hoopoes are distinctive birds and have made a cultural impact over much of their range. They were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt and symbols of virtue in Persia. In the Bible, Leviticus 11:13-19, they were listed among the animals that are detestable and should not be eaten. They were thought of as thieves across much of Europe and harbingers of war in Scandinavia. Also, in Estonian tradition the Hoopoes are strongly connected with death and the underworld, their song is seen as a forebode of death for many a people or cattle. In Egypt they were depicted on the walls of tombs and temples; they achieved a similar standing in Minoan Crete.

Hoopoes also appear in the Quran in Surah Al-Naml 27:20-22 in the following context "And he [Solomon] sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But he [the Hoopoe] was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings.

The Hoopoe was chosen as the national bird of the State of Israel in May 2008 in conjunction with the country's 60th anniversary, following a national survey of 155,000 citizens, outpolling the White-spectacled Bulbul. It is also the state-bird of Punjab province of India.

In Ovid's Metamorphoses, book 6, King Tereus of Thrace, married to Procne, rapes his wife's sister, Philomela and cuts out her tongue. In revenge, Procne kills their son Itys and serves him as a stew to his father. When Tereus sees the boy's head, which is served on a platter, he grabs a sword but just as he attempts to kill the sisters, they are turned into birds—Philomela into a nightingale and Procne into a swallow. Tereus himself is turned into a hoopoe. The bird's crest indicates his royal status and his long, sharp beak is a symbol of his violent nature.