European bee-eater

European bee-eater
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
Species: M. apiaster
Binomial name
Merops apiaster
Linnaeus, 1758
Distribution of the Merops apiaster

The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and apiaster is Latin, also meaning "bee-eater", from apis, "bee".[2] It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its range, with occasional breeding in northwest Europe.

Description

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It has brown and yellow upper parts, whilst the wings are green and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 27–29 cm (10.6–11.4 in), including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike.

Food

Feeding bee-eater—the female (in front) waits for the male's offering

This bird breeds in open country in warmer climates. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps, and hornets. They catch insects in flight, in sorties from an open perch. Before eating a bee, the European bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It can eat around 250 bees a day.

The most important prey item in their diet is Hymenoptera, mostly Apis mellifera. A study in Spain found that these comprise 69.4% to 82% of the European bee-eaters' diet.[3] Their impact on bee populations, however, is small. They eat less than 1% of the worker bees in areas where they live.[4]

A study found that European bee-eaters "convert food to body weight more efficiently if they are fed a mixture of bees and dragonflies than if they eat only bees or only dragonflies."[5]

Behaviour

These bee-eaters are gregarious—nesting colonially in sandy banks, preferably near river shores, usually at the beginning of May. They make a relatively long tunnel, in which they lay five to eight spherical white eggs around the beginning of June. Both male and female care for the eggs, which they brood for about three weeks. They also feed and roost communally.

During courtship, the male feeds large items to the female while eating the small ones himself.[6] Most males are monogamous, but occasional bigamy has been encountered.[6] Their typical call is a distinctive, mellow, liquid and burry prreee or prruup.

Reported UK breeding attempts

Eggs of Merops apiaster

European bee-eaters have attempted to nest in Britain on at least 5 occasions:

Gallery

See also

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Merops apiaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 50, 251. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01548.x
  4. Roulston, TH; Goodell, K (2011). "The role of resources and risks in regulating wild bee populations". Annual Review of Entomology. 56: 293–312. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144802.
  5. Judith Goodenough; Betty McGuire; Elizabeth Jakob (2009). Perspectives on Animal Behavior. John Wiley & Sons. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-470-04517-6.
  6. 1 2 Avery, MI; Krebs, JR; Houston, AI (1988). "Economics of courtship-feeding in the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster)". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 23 (2): 61–67. doi:10.1007/BF00299888.
  7. Birdwatch no. 173 p. 23
  8. "Birders flock to see exotic bee-eaters". The Guardian. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  9. "Rare bee-eater birds found nesting in Cumbrian quarry". BBC News. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.

External links

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