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14

Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) Alternate name(s): "Little Green Bee-eater" Size: 20-25 cm (incl. tail streamers 2-8 cm); wing span 30 cm

Oman: Family Group 14 Family Group 14 Table Common Swift Pallid Swift Collared Kingfisher Common Kingfisher Pied Kingfisher Green Bee-eater Little Bee-eater Blue-cheeked Bee-eater European Roller Indian Roller Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Green Bee-eaters are relatively small bee-eaters. Details of their plumage depend on race. Generally speaking, the front from the chest to the undertail coverts, is green, giving the species its name. Most races have a blue facial mask from the frons and supercilium to the ear coverts and chin that is bisected by black eye stripes. The blue mask is separated from the green front by a black frontal band of variable thickness. The crown, nape of the neck, flanks, back, tail and wings are usually more golden- or yellowish-green than the front. Like all bee-eaters they have tail streamers. The irises are orange-brown. The long and slender, slightly downcurved bill is black. The short legs and feet are dark-grey. Juvenile Green Bee-eaters have a much duller overall appearance than adults, with more greyish and creamy hues, and they also lack tail streamers.

Taxonomy, classification See Green 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 Green Bee-eater is available HERE . There are several races of Green Bee-eaters which altogether have a wide-ranging distribution. Apart from seasonal movements they are not generally migratory. Their range extends from sub-Saharan and eastern Africa and the valley of the river Nile via most of the near-coasal regions of Arabia and along the southern coastline of Iraq and Iran eastwards via Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent (including Sri Lanka), Bangladesh and Myanmar into Thailand and Vietnam. In Arabia Green Bee-eaters, races "cyanophrys" (which includes "meccanus") and "muscatensis", are found. While race "cyanophrys" is found in western and central Saudi Arabia, near-coastal Yemen and the southern tip of Oman, race "muscatensis" resides in the highlands of northern Oman. In the coastal flatlands of northern Oman there may also be Green Bee-eaters of race "cyanophrys". Green Bee-eaters were found by us near water, in an arboretum with shrubs and trees, but also in acacia-dominated semi-arid areas, including dry creek beds (wadis).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "muscatensis" We have spotted Green Bee-eaters, race "muscatensis", on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in the period August-December 2009 and again in May 2010, when they were found to be nesting. Race "cyanophrys" A number of Green Bee-eaters observed by us on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in the period August 2009 to May 2010 had the typical yellowish-green plumage of race "cyanophrys".

Photos

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Race "cyanophrys"

ADULT

PAIR

Frontal view of a pair of Green Bee-eaters taking a rest; note the yellowish hues
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Pair of Green Bee-eaters, one of which is launching itself into action
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Sex unknown

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

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Part of a family of Green Bee-eaters; in total there were four fledglings with their parents
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Closer look at one of the fledgling Green Bee-eaters
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Race "muscatensis"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Green Bee-eater
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Close-up near-frontal view of a Green Bee-eater looking sideways
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Lateral view of a Green Bee-eater scanning the surface of a pond for prey while cooling evaporately through its bill
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Partly obscured close-up lateral view of a Green Bee-eater
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a Green Bee-eater stretching; this bird has much duller colours than the adults shown above - possibly a first-year bird
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Lateral view of a Green Bee-eater with pale plumage hunting from the ground; note the extremely thin, thread-like tongue
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Green Bee-eater hunting from its favourite perch
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Close-up lateral view of a juvenile Green Bee-eater on a 41 C hot day
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Mar - Jun

Eggs: 3 - 5

Incubation period: ca. 14 days

Fledging age: 21 - 28 days

Nest building: Male & female

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Breeding pairs of Green Bee-eater may employ helpers, presumably from earlier broods, in building nest tunnels and raising chicks.

Nest

Type: Tunnel

Material: Sandy soil, no lining

Height above ground: N/A

Overview photo of the entrance to a Green Bee-eater's nest, carved into a steep, sandy (manmade) bank; to the left of the hole an abandoned attempt
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Close-up look at the entrance hole of a Green Bee-eater's nest; the tunnel is long enough to render the nest itself invisible
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Eggs

Size: 20 x 17 mm

Colour: Glossy white

Shape: Oval (near-spherical)

Behaviour

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

After catching an insect, Green 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 eating it.

Food, Diet

As their name already indicates (and like other members of the Merops genus), Green 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.

Lateral view of a Green Bee-eater with its prey, a dragonfly
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, April 2010]

They were seen by us to also hunt under water (photo below).

Green Bee-eater emerging from water with its catch; one can clearly see how it shakes itself free of water in a circular motion while emerging from the water's surface
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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