Swallow-tailed bee-eater
Swallow-tailed bee-eater | |
---|---|
M. hirundineus hirundineus Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa | |
M. hirundineus chrysolaimus Senegal | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Meropidae |
Genus: | Merops |
Species: | M. hirundineus
|
Binomial name | |
Merops hirundineus Lichtenstein, 1793
| |
Synonyms | |
|
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.
References[]
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Merops hirundineus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683702A92996665. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683702A92996665.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Merops hirundineus. |
External links[]
- Swallow-tailed bee-eater - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Meropidae
- Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
- Birds described in 1793
- Taxa named by Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein