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Asian Green Bee-eater - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 00:23, 23 April 2011 by Deliatodd-18346 (talk | contribs) (Video link. OBI link deleted)
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Merops orientalis
Photo by Scottishdude
Goa, India, March 2009

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[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.

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. AvianWeb
  4. BF Member observations

Recommended Citation

External Links


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