>Merops gularis (Black Bee-eater)

Black Bee-eater

Black Bee-eater
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. gularis
Binomial name
Merops gularis Shaw, 1798

The Black Bee-eater (Merops gularis) is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.

Description

Black with scarlet chin and throat, streaked breast, pale blue eyebrow, belly, undertail-coverts and rump, rufous primaries.

Distribution

It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies:

• M.g. gularis - From Sierra Leone to southeast Nigeria - With the forehead blue, and a distinct bright cobalt-blue superciliary stripe. Some southeast Nigerian and west Cameroon birds are intermediate between this and M.g. australis
• M.g. australis - From southeast Nigeria to northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo, south to north Angola. - No superciliary stripe; forehead black, sometimes with a few blue feathers; the light azure-blue streaks on breast and even the belly are sometimes scarlet-tipped. Wing 5mm longer than the nominate subspecies.

>Merops phillipinus (Blue-tailed Bee-eater)

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. philippinus
Binomial name
Merops philippinus Linnaeus, 1766

The Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Merops philippinus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southeastern Asia. It is strongly migratory, seen seasonally in much of peninsular India.

This species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater,M. persicus.

Blue-tailed Bee-eater from behind, showing the blue rump and tail

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 23-26 cm, including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike.

This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical open country, such as farmland, parks or ricefields. It is most often seen near large waterbodies. Like other bee-eaters it predominantly eats insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch.This species probably takes bees and dragonflies in roughly equal numbers. The insect that are caught are beaten on the perch to kill and break the exoskeleton. This habit is seen in many other members of the coraciiformes order.

These bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 5 to 7 spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds also feed and roost communally. The call is similar to that of the European Bee-eater.

Gallery

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  Watercolour
 
• 

  Blue Tailed with Prey
 
• 
 
• 
 
• 

  Blue-tailed Bee-eater

>Merops albicollis (Swallow-tailed Bee-eater)

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. hirundineus
Binomial name
Merops hirundineus Lichtenstein, 1793

The Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in savannah woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. It is partially migratory, moving in response to rainfall patterns.

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. Its colours and readily visible forked tail make this species unmistakable. It is mainly green with a yellow throat, blue gorget and black eye stripe and beak. It can reach a length of 20–22 cm, including the long forked green or blue feathers. Sexes are alike.

This is a species which prefers somewhat more wooded country than most bee-eaters. This attractive bird is readily approached. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Swallowtail has a preference for honeybees.

These bee-eaters are nesting as pairs or in very small colonies in sandy banks, or similar flat ground. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 2 to 4 spherical, white eggs are laid. These birds also feed and roost communally.

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater in Etosha National Park, Namibia

>Merops albicollis (White-throated Bee-eater)

White-throated Bee-eater

White-throated Bee-eater
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. albicollis
Binomial name
Merops albicollis Vieillot, 1817

Photographed near Entebbe, Uganda

The White-throated Bee-eater, Merops albicollis is a near passerine bird in the
bee-eater family Meropidae.
 It breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara, Africa. The White-throated Bee-eater is migratory, wintering in a completely different habitat in the equatorial rainforests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda.

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, but its face and throat are white with a black crown, eye stripe, and neckband. The underparts are pale green shading to blue on the breast. The eye is red and the beak is black.

The White-throated Bee-eater can reach a length of 19-21 cm, excluding the two very elongated central tail feathers, which can exceed an additional length of 12 cm. They weigh between 20 and 28 grams. Sexes are alike. The call is similar to European Bee-eater.

The White-throated Bee-eater is a bird which breeds in dry sandy open country, such thorn scrub and near-desert. These abundant bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. They make a relatively long 1-2 m tunnel in which the 6 to 7 spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, but up to five helpers also assist with caring for the young.

White-throated Bee-eaters also feed and roost communally. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes mainly flying ants and beetles.

Widespread and common throughout its large range, the White-throated Bee-eater is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

>Merops orientalis (Green Bee-eater)

Green Bee-eater

Green Bee-eater
ssp. orientalis
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. orientalis
Binomial name
Merops orientalis Latham, 1802
Synonyms
Merops viridis Neumann, 1910

The Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis, (sometimes Little Green Bee-eater) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and The Gambia to Ethiopia, the Nile valley, western Arabia and Asia through India to Vietnam. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named.

Description

Subspecies muscatensis from the UAE

baspati in bengali, Bakura, W.B, India

Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base.Southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts, whereas Arabian beludschicus has a green crown, blue face and bluish underparts. The wings are green and the beak is black. The elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles. Sexes are alike.

The calls is a nasal trill tree-tree-tree-tree, usually given in flight.

Taxonomy

Race cyanophrys from Israel

Several populations have been designated as subspecies:

• viridissimus is found from Senegal to northern Ethiopia (has more green on the throat, crown and nape with long streamers)
• cleopatra from the Nile Valley to northern Sudan
• flavoviridis from northern Chad to Sudan
• muscatensis on the Arabian plateau (more yellowish green with narrow gorget on throat)
• cyanophrys found in Israel and the Arabian region (includesmeccanus)
• beludschicus(=biludschicus) Iran to Pakistan (paler colours with a blue throat)
• orientalis in India and Sri Lanka (has head and neck tinged with rufous)
• ferrugeiceps (=birmanus) in northeastern India, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (has rufous crown, name and mantle)
• ceylonicus in Sri Lanka has the nape and hindneck with more pronounced golden brown sheen often included within the nominate race

A study of species within the genus Merops based on plumage characteristics found that most of the subspecies of orientalis grouping together with the most similar species being Merops leschenaulti and subspecies ferrugeiceps appeared closer to that group.

Leucistic individuals have been noted.

Distribution and habitat

Merops orientalis -at Ameenpur lake hyderabad India.

Green bee eater,nagpur,India

This is an abundant and fairly tame bird, familiar throughout its range. It is a bird which breeds in open country with bushes. In Africa and Arabia it is found in arid areas, but is more diverse in its habitats further east. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. It readily makes use of fence wires and electric wires. Unlike some other bee-eaters, they can be found well away from water.

They are mostly see in the plains but can sometimes be found up to 5000 or 6000 feet in the Himalayas. They are resident in the lowlands of South Asia but some populations move seasonally but the patterns are unclear moving away to drier regions in the rainy season and to warmer regions in winter.In parts of Pakistan, they are summer visitors.

Behaviour and ecology

Race orientalis with a dragonfly in Hyderabad, India.

Like other species in the genus, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees,
wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before swallowing prey, a bee-eater removes stings and breaks the exoskeleton of the prey by repeatedly thrashing it on the perch. Migration is not known but they make seasonal movements in response to rainfall. These birds are somewhat sluggish in the mornings and may be found huddled next to each other on wires sometimes with their bills tucked in their backs well after sunrise. They sand-bathe more frequently than other bee-eater species and will sometimes bathe in water by dipping into water in flight.They are usually seen in small groups and often roost communally in large numbers (200-300). The birds move excitedly at the roost site and call loudly, often explosively dispersing before settling back to the roost tree. The Little Green Bee-Eater is also becoming common in urban and sub-urban neighborhoods, and has been observed perching on television antennae, only to launch into a brief, zig-zag flight formation to catch an insect, then return to the same perch and consume the meal. This behaviour is generally observed between the hours of 7:00 and 8:00am, and after 4:00pm.

The breeding season is from March to June. Unlike many bee-eaters, these are often solitary nesters, making a tunnel in a sandy bank. The breeding pairs are often joined by helpers. They nest in hollows in vertical mud banks. The nest tunnel that they construct can run as much as 5 feet long and the 3-5 eggs are laid on the bare ground in the cavity at the end of the tunnel. The eggs are very spherical and glossy white. Clutch size varies with rainfall and insect food density. Both sexes incubate. The eggs hatch asynchronously with an incubation period of about 14 days and the chicks grow fledge in 3 to 4 weeks and in the fledging stage show a reduction in body weight.

Race orientalis, Nepal, Jan 1993

A study suggested that Green Bee-eaters may be capable of interpreting the behaviour of human observers. They showed an ability to predict whether a human at a particular location would be capable of spotting the nest entrance and then behaved appropriately to avoid giving away the nest location. The ability to look at a situation from another's point of view was previously believed to be possessed only by primates.

Sand bathing.

Riverside habitats were found to support high populations in southern India (157 birds per square kilometre) dropping off too 101 per km² in agricultural areas and 43-58 per square km near human habitations.

They feed on flying insects and can sometimes be nuisance to bee-keepers.The preferred prey was mostly beetles followed by hymenopterans. Orthopterans appear to be avoided. They are sometimes known to take crabs. Like most other birds they regurgitate the hard parts of their prey as pellets.

An endoparasitic nematode (Torquatoides balanocephala) sometimes infects their gizzard.

>Merops persicus (Blue-cheeked Bee-eater)

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. persicus
Binomial name
Merops persicus Pallas, 1773

The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed and live year round in the Sahel.This species occurs as a rare vagrant north of its breeding range.

Description

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has blue sides with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the beak is black. It can reach a length of 31 cm (12 in), with the two elongated central tail feathers adding another 7 cm (2.8 in). Sexes are mostly alike but the tail-streamers of the female are shorter.

This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical semi-desert with a few trees, such as acacia. It winters in open woodland or grassland. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes more dragonflies than any other food item. Its preferred hunting perch is telephone wires if available.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters may nest solitarily or in loose colonies of up to ten birds. They may also nest in colonies with European Bee-eaters. The nests are located in sandy in sandy banks, embankments, low cliffs or on the shore of the Caspian Sea. They make a relatively long tunnel of 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) in length in which the four to eight (usually six or seven), spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, although the female alone incubates them at night. Incubation takes 23–26 days.

The call sounds 'flatter' and less 'fluty' than the European Bee-eater.

Thumamah, KSA 1992

Subspecies

It has two subspecies

• Merops persicus persicus - Breeds in Asia, winters in East and Southern Africa
• Merops persicus chrysocercus - Breeds in North Africa, winters in West Africa.

This species is closely related to Blue-tailed Bee-eater, M. philippinus of East Asia, and the Olive Bee-eater of Africa, and has been treated as being the same species (conspecific).

>Merops pusillus (Little Bee-eater)

Little Bee-eater

Little Bee-eater
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops
Species:	M. pusillus
Binomial name
Merops pusillus Statius Muller, 1776

The Little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It should not be confused with the Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It has green upper parts, yellow throat, black gorget, and rich brown upper breast fading to buffish ocre on the belly. The wings are green and brown, and the beak is black. It reaches a length of 15–17 cm, which makes it the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep".

This is an abundant and tame bird, familiar throughout its range. There have been estimated to be between 60-80 million Little Bee-eaters. It breeds in open country with bushes, preferably near water. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.

Unlike most bee-eaters, these are solitary nesters, making a tunnel in sandy banks, or sometimes in the entrance to an Aardvark den. They lay 4 to 6 spherical white eggs. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds roost communally, lined up on a tree branch.

Various views and plumages

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  Little Bee-Eaters commonly seen in pairs or larger groups. Hann Park. Dakar, Senegal.
 
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  male and juvenile female
 
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  Entebbe, Uganda
 
• 

  Hann Park, Dakar, Senegal
 
• 

  Little Bee Eater in the Caprivi strip, Namibia.

>>Genus Merops

Merops (genus)

Merops
European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Merops Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Many, see text

Merops is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. The members of this Old World family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air.

All bee-eaters are in the genus Merops and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asiatic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae.

The species in Merops are:

• Little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus
• Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus
• Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis
• White-throated Bee-eater, Merops albicollis
• Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Merops hirundinaeus
• Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Merops phillipinus
• Black Bee-eater, Merops gularis
• Blue-headed Bee-eater, Merops muelleri
• Red-throated Bee-eater, Merops bullocki
• White-fronted Bee-eater, Merops bullockoides
• Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Merops variegatus
• Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Merops oreobates
• Black-headed Bee-eater, Merops breweri
• Somali Bee-eater, Merops revoilii
• Böhm's Bee-eater, Merops boehmi
• Blue-throated Bee-eater, Merops viridis
• Olive Bee-eater, Merops superciliosus
• Rainbow Bee-eater, Merops ornatus
• European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster
• Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Merops leschenaulti
• Rosy Bee-eater, Merops malimbicus
• Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Merops nubicus
• Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Merops nubicoides