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Asian Green Bee-eater - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 04:43, 22 November 2016 by Aloktewari (talk | contribs) (Image of immature added.)
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Alternative name: Little Green Bee-eater

Photo by Scottishdude
Goa, India, March 2009
Merops orientalis


Identification

16-18cm

  • Green upper parts
  • Head and underpart colours vary according to subspecies
  • Green wings
  • Black beak

Sexes similar

Distribution

Africa, Middle East and Asia:
Northern Africa: Libya, Egypt
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda
Middle East: Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran

Photo by Simonph
Dubai, UAE, December 2004

Asia: Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 8 subspecies[1]:

  • M. o. viridissimus in the savanna of Senegal to Eritrea, Ethiopia and western Sudan
  • M. o. flavoviridis in the subdesert steppes of Chad to Red Sea coast of Sudan
  • M. o. cleopatra in Nile Valley (Lake Nasser to delta)
  • M. o. cyanophrys on the Arabian Peninsula
  • M. o. najdanus on the central Arabian plateau
  • M. o. beludschicus from the north end of Persian Gulf to Baluchistan and western India
  • M. o. orientalis from the Rann of Kutch to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
  • M. o. ferrugeiceps from Assam and Myanmar to Vietnam

Habitat

Around water bodies, river sides, open cultivated areas, scrub forests, parks and gardens, open woodland.

Behaviour

Diet

They catch bees and other insects in flight and retun to the same perch to batter them to remove the sting before eating.

Breeding

Nests are made in a tunnel in sandy banks. The 4 to 8 spherical white eggs are incubated by both the male and the female.

Immature
Photo by Alok Tewari
Gurgaon, Haryana, India, June-2015

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase
  3. AvianWeb
  4. BF Member observations

Recommended Citation

External Links


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