White-fronted Bee-eater - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Tully
Photo taken: Hell's Gate National Park, Rift Valley, Kenya, July 2006

Merops bullockoides

Identification

• Green upperparts
• Cinnamon underparts
• Black mask
• White forehead,
• Bright red throat
• Square tail
• Dark trailing edge to wings, visible in flight
• Some juveniles have a buff or yellow throat

Distribution

Widespread throughout sub-equatorial Africa:
Western Africa: Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland

Taxonomy

Merops bullockoides has two subspecies.¹

• M. b. bullockoides:

• Semi-arid savannas in central and southern Africa.

• M. b. randorum:

• Highlands of southern Tanzania

Photo by DARKROOM IMAGES
Chobe National Park, Botswana, September 2008

Habitat

Sandbanks near rivers, savanna and open country. Wetlands, broadleaf woodland and wooded riverbanks

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest in colonies, roosting and nesting in holes in cliffs or banks of earth.

Diet

The diet includes mainly bees and other flying insects.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. TrekNature
5. BF member observations

External Links

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