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This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. Its colours and readily visible forked tail make it unmistakable. It is mainly green with a yellow throat, blue gorget and black eye stripe and beak. It can reach a length of 20–22 cm, including the long forked green or blue feathers. Sexes are alike. [2]
The tail is blackish with an orange base and white tip when seen from the front, while from the back it is mainly green, with black edges visible when it is flared. This bird can be distinguished from the somewhat similar little bee-eater by their larger size, darker colouring, white cheek patches, and the upland habitat where they are found.
Bee-eater nests may be raided by rats and snakes, [38] and the adults are hunted by birds of prey such as the Levant sparrowhawk. [39] The little bee-eater and red-throated bee-eaters are hosts of the greater honeyguide and the lesser honeyguide, both brood parasites. The young honeyguides kill the bee-eater's chicks and destroy any eggs.
The olive bee-eater grows to a length of 23 to 26 cm (9.1 to 10.2 in) with its tail streamers adding up to 7 cm (2.8 in). The sexes are similar, and adults have bronzy-green plumage with an olive cap and white forehead, eyebrows, chin and cheeks. The rump and tail are blue, apart from the streamers, which are black. [7]
The rainbow bee-eater's two central tail feathers are longer than the other tail feathers, and are longer in the male rainbow bee-eaters than in the females. [7] The crown of the head, the stomach and breast, and the throat are pale yellow-orange in color, and it has a black crescent-shaped gorget and a black stripe, edged with blue, extending ...
Adult blue-throated bee-eaters grow to around 21 cm, with an additional 9 cm including tail streamers. [6] They weigh around 34 to 41 grams. [6] Adults have spectacular plumage with a red crown and nape, dark green wings, blue tail, light green breast, white belly, and the signature blue throat.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2007 showed that the genus is basal and forms a sister group to the remaining members of the bee-eater family. [6] Like other bee-eaters, Nyctyornis species are colourful birds with long tails, long downturned bills and pointed wings. They are large bee-eaters (blue-bearded is the largest of all bee ...
The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) 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. [ 1 ]