Little bee-eater

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Little bee-eater
Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus argutus) Namibia.jpg
M. p. argutus, Namibia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
Species:
M. pusillus
Binomial name
Merops pusillus
Synonyms
  • Melittophagus pusillus

The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. [2] They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. [3] They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis). Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.

Contents

Members of this species, like other bee-eaters, are rich and brightly coloured slender birds. They have green upper parts, yellow throats, black gorgets, and rich brown upper breasts fading to buffish ochre on the belly. [4] Their wings are green and brown. [5] Their beaks and legs are black. [6] They reach a length of 15–17 cm, which makes them the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep".

These are abundant and tame birds, familiar throughout their range. There have been estimated to be between 60 and 80 million little bee-eaters. They breed in open country with bushes, preferably near water. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, who 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 their meal, a bee-eater removes the stinger 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.

Subspecies and plumages

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Merops pusillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22683688A92995977. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683688A92995977.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Nigel Redman; Terry Stevenson; John Fanshawe (2010). Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Socotra. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 473. ISBN   9781408135761.
  3. Eugene M. McCarthy (2006). Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World. Oxford University Press. p. 120. ISBN   978-0-19-518323-8.
  4. Nigel Redman; Terry Stevenson; John Fanshawe (2020). Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Socotra. A&C Black. p. 244. ISBN   9781408125809.
  5. "Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus)". beautyofbirds.com. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  6. The Ibis: journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. Vol. 4. Wiley-Blackwell. 1874. p. 363.