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14

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus) Size: 28-32 cm (incl. tail streamers 4-8 cm); wing span 35-39 cm

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Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters are relatively large bee-eaters. They have a yellowish to golden-brown chin patch, under which the rest of the sides and front are pale greyish-green. Only the vent and the undertail are grey. The white frons merges into a light-blue supercilium above prominent black eye stripes, which again are flanked by thin white and light-blue malar stripes. The back is darker bluish-green throughout, with dark-grey flight feathers that have bluish-green frontal edges. The tail, including the upper side of the streamers, has the same colour. In some light conditions, especially on hot summer days with nearly vertically infalling sunlight, the slightly glossy plumage on the back can appear to be bluish-grey. The irises are orange-brown. The long and slender, slightly downcurved bill is black. The short legs and feet are dark-grey. Juvenile Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters have duller colours than adults and they lack tail streamers.

Taxonomy, classification See Blue-cheeked Bee-eater at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater is available HERE . There are two races of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, which are a strongly migratory species. Their breeding grounds are in parts of inland north-western Africa, the river Nile delta, parts of southern Asia Minor and around the Caspian Sea into Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. They spend the winters in tropical Africa, where a part of the population is sedentary. Nominate race "persicus" breeds in Asia and Arabia, wintering in eastern and southern Africa, while race "hrysocercus", which breeds in north-western Africa, winters in the southern part of West Africa. In Arabia Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, race "persicus", are found in the Middle Eastern countries (Lebanon, Syria, Israel/Palestine, Jordan) during migration, while they are breeding migrants to the Euphrates/Tigris river system in Iraq and also along the North coast of the Arabian peninsula, from about Abu Dhabi in the West to the Muscat area in northern Oman. Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were found by us near water, in an arboretum with shrubs and trees, but also in more open, acacia-dominated semi-arid areas, including dry creek beds (wadis).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "persicus" We have spotted Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, race "persicus", on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in the period August-October 2009. After a prolonged absence during the winter months, they were seen by us in the region again in May 2010. The photos presented below taken in May 2010 were obtained at Sun Farms, Sohar (Batinah region). Special permission to enter the premises for bird photography is hereby most gratefully acknowledged.

Photos

Race "persicus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Close-up lateral view of a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Close-up lateral view of a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, slightly different posture
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater landing on a power line
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Direct comparison of the relative sizes of a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (above) and a Green Bee-eater (below)
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a juvenile Blue-cheeked Bee-eater; note the absence of streamers
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Dorsal view of an adult Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, right, with one of its offspring; note the absence of tails streamers
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Different dorsal view of both Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters; adult on the left, juvenile on the right
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Lunchtime for the young Blue-cheeked Bee-eater on the right
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Behaviour

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were usually seen in clans of about 10 birds, while their smaller cousins, the Green Bee-eaters, come in pairs or as singles.

Food, Diet

As their name already indicates (and like another member of the Merops genus, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters feed on bees, but also other insects such as e.g. dragonflies. They catch their prey in flight, then take it to their perch where it is killed with a head flick smashing it against the branch.

After catching an insect, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters will sit on a perch, turn their head to a side and then flip around in a sideways downward movement, smashing the insect against the branch that they are sitting on to kill it before devouring it.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were also seen by us to hunt under water (photos below). Although they move around as a group, they hunt individually.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater diving into a pond in a swoop similar to a Gannet's; undesired side-effect: the focus of this shot is on the reflection on the water's surface
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater emerging from water after a short dive
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

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