| Blue-breasted bee-eater | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Meropidae |
| Genus: | Merops |
| Species: | M. variegatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Merops variegatus Vieillot, 1817 | |
The blue-breasted bee-eater (Merops variegatus) is a central African species of bird. It is a member of the family Meropidae. Meropids are all visually similar and have a diet specialized in Hymenopterans.
The blue-breasted bee-eater, Merops variegatus, exhibits several physically defining characteristics of the Meropidae. It has a relatively large head, short neck, bright plumage, long curved slim sharp beak and a broad black eyestripe. [2] M. variegatus weights between 20 and 26 g and measures between 18 and 21 cm in length. It is primarily a green bird, with a green crown, green upper parts and light greenish-yellow underparts. [3]
Primary wings are washed with rufous and secondaries are green with black tips. Overall the wings are rounded at the tip compared to the pointed tips of the migratory species in Meropidae. [2] [3] The tail has twelve rectrices, the outer rectrices are washed with rufous and the center feathers are green. The tail has a subterminal black bar and is tipped with white. Furthermore, the tail has a shallow v -shape and is lacking tail-streamers present in other members of the family.
The head of the blue-breasted bee-eater can be distinguished from other members of the family by a combination of characteristics. It has a blue stripe over the black eye stripe, an orange-red iris, a white cheek and a bright yellow throat. [2] [3] Furthermore, like many meropids, they have a wide chest band. Its chest band is made up of two colours, a deep purple-blue gorget above a chestnut coloured breastband. [3] [2]
Juveniles of the blue-breasted bee-eater have buff flanks and belly. They have a yellow-buff chin that leads to a light green mottled breast. Juveniles also completely lack a chest band. [3] [2]
The little bee-eaters and the cinnamon-chested bee-eater are both very similar to the blue-breasted bee-eater. Although the little bee-eater is similar in voice, behavior and distribution it is smaller than the blue breasted, with a relatively smaller head as well. Furthermore, the little bee-eater lacks the white margin of cheeks present on the blue breasted. [4] The cinnamon-chested bee-eater which also live in Ethiopia has the black mask and white cheek like that of the blue breasted bee eater. However, the blue breasted bee eater is smaller and has a much brighter green crown. [3]
The blue-breasted bee-eater is a member of the family Meropidae. A family whose members are relatively uniform in behavior and morphology, it is a well-defined family within the coraciiform order in class Aves. [2] Meropidae originated in East Asia or Africa, and much of its early diversification occurred in Africa. [5] Meropidae has two major clades, one exclusively made up of African residents while the second one is mostly migrant species found in Asia and Africa. [6]
The genus Merops is with in the African resident clade of Meropidae. Historically Merops was split up into six genera which are no longer valid: Bomblonax, Melittophagus, Dicrocercus, Meropiscus, Aerops and Philothurs. [6] [4] Merops variegatus closest relative is M. pusillus, the little bee-eater. They are considered sister tax and make up their own clade. The outgroup to the M. variegatus - M. pusillus clade is M. oreobates, cinnamon-chested bee-eater. [5]
The blue-breasted bee-eater has three subspecies; M. v. variegatus, M. v. loringi, and M. v. banweoloensis. [5] [4] The Ethiopian bee-eater (M. lafresnayii) was formerly considered conspecific, but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021. [7] It is now known to be a distinct lineage, being more closely related to M. oreobates than to M. variegatus.
Blue breasted bee-eaters are found in many central African countries such as Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Cameroon. [2] [4] Within these countries the blue-breasted bee-eaters are found in a variety of habitats, ranging from reedy lake shores to the savanna grass lands bordering the Congo basin. [8] [3] They have also been recorded in marshes, grassy hillsides and papyrus beds. However, this species is usually associated with open wet habitats. [3]
The perching song for this species contains short trills: pip, tup-tup and trrip where as the courtship song to a mate is more expanded: turrp p’ti p’ti p’ti. [4] [3]
Members of the genus Merops have a diet specialized in hymenopterans compared to the rest of Meropidae. [4] The blue-breasted bee eaters’ diet consists of a wide variety of insect species. However, most of the diet is made up of honey bee workers, flower bees and Halictid bees. The rest of their diet is supplemented by flies, beetles, true bugs, grasshoppers, and butterflies. [4]
Blue breasted bee eaters do much of their searching for prey in pairs from a perch. In savanna and forest edge habitats they can be found perched in bushes waiting for prey. [3] [8] They wait for passing prey and then will give horizontal chase and catch their prey in the air. [3] On rare occasions they have been observed diving into shallow waters to catch small fish. [4] [3]
Blue breasted bee eaters’ mate at different times of the year depending on their geographic location. In the Northern reaches of their range breeding occurs from February to March, in the East from October to December, in the South September to October and in the West August to September. [3] Nests are excavated in grassy hillsides or in eroded lakeshores. The nest consists of a tunnel, measuring from 45 to 75 cm long, which leads to an egg chamber, measuring 17-70 x 18–22 cm. The eggs are kept in the unlined egg chamber during incubation. [3]
Although several species of Meropidae are known for cooperative breeding, the blue-breasted bee-eater is a solitary monogamous breeder. [9] A mating pair will produce between 2 and 3 eggs. The parents and their offspring will remain very social after the young have fledged the nest. They can even be found together up until the beginning of the next breeding season. [4]
The bee-eaters are a group of birds in the family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty-one species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers. All have long down-turned bills and medium to long wings, which may be pointed or round. Male and female plumages are usually similar.
The European bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African population, the species is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its usual range, with occasional breeding in northern Europe.
The blue-cheeked bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and persicus is Latin for "Persian".
The blue-tailed bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia where many populations are strongly migratory, and seen seasonally in many parts but breeding colonially in small areas across their range, mostly in river valleys, where they nest by tunneling into loamy sand banks. They are seen mostly in open habitats close to water.
The little bee-eater is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.
The Asian green bee-eater, also known as little green bee-eater, and green bee-eater in Sri Lanka, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across Asia from coastal southern Iran east through the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam. Populations in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that were formerly assigned to this species are now considered distinct species: the African green bee-eater and the Arabian green bee-eater. 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.
The swallow-tailed bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae.
The white-throated bee-eater 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 rain forests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda.
The rainbow bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae.
The white-fronted bee-eater is a species of bee-eater widely distributed in sub-equatorial Africa.
The northern carmine bee-eater is a brightly-coloured bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is found across northern tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the southern carmine bee-eater which has a carmine coloured throat rather than the blue throat of the northern species.
The black-headed bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in forests in tropical Central and West Africa, its range including Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
The red-throated bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. This species is native to the Sudan (region). It has a wide range and large total population, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The cinnamon-chested bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is mainly native to the Albertine Rift montane forests and the East African montane forests.
The Somali bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Tanzania. This is a small bee-eater that prefers arid country and desert areas where it may be locally common. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern", postulating that clearing of woodland and forest is creating new suitable habitat for the bird and that its population trend may therefore be rising.
The blue-throated bee-eater is a species of bird in the bee-eater family. They are found throughout southeast Asia in subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Their diet consists mostly of bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Blue-throated bee-eaters are small with colorful plumage consisting of a red nape, dark green wings, light green breast, and their signature blue throat. Juvenile plumage contain dark green head and wings and light green breasts, only developing their full plumage in adulthood. They have a rich variety of songs and calls, including longcalls which allow them to communicate long distances in the forest.
The Ethiopian bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in Ethiopia and Sudan. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the blue-breasted bee-eater.
The African green bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found throughout arid regions of Africa from Senegal east to Ethiopia, and has expanded its range north to Egypt over the past few decades.
