- Merops orientalis
Identification
16-18cm. Green upper parts, but the head and underpart colours vary widely depending on the subspecies. The wings are green and the beak is black. Sexes are alike.
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa, Senegal, The Gambia, Ethiopia, the Nile valley, western Arabia, Asia, India and Vietnam.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Open country with bushes.
Behaviour
Diet includes insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air. Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.
Nest are made in a tunnel in sandy banks. 4 to 8 spherical white eggs are laid and incubated by both the male and the female.
