Hudhud (Arabic for hoopoe), the unlikely avian inspiration behind a brewing cyclone’s name, is a little bright orange, insectivorous bird found across Asia, Africa and much of Europe.
The hoopoe finds special references in the Koran and is described as the “leader of birds” in the Persian text The Conference of the Birds . If hudhud sounds like a misnomer for a severe cyclonic storm that threatens to wreak havoc over much of India’s east coast, the north Indian Ocean will, in just a few years, see cyclones as innocuously named as Bulbul and Titli (butterfly).
Eight countries take turns to name cyclones over the Indian Ocean, and Hudhud was Oman’s contribution.
