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Bee-eaters comprise a group of graceful, brightly
coloured, slender bodied, long billed birds in the family Meropidae. They
eat a variety of winged insects including bees, wasps, flying beetles and
dragonflies.
Bee-eaters congregate at high, open perches - particularly dead trees in open
countryside, riverine areas or forest edge. From their vantage point their
sharp eyes can easily spot insect prey, which is always caught on the wing.
Southeast Asia's bee-eaters typically nest in burrows excavated in sandy
cliff faces, or in bare ground, but have also been observed nesting in
man-made, abandoned piles of sandy soil. The Red-bearded Bee-eater
Nyctornis amictus, is known to nest in termite mounds.
Bee-eaters reach their greatest diversity in Africa, however eight species
of bee-eater occur within Southeast Asia either as residents or migrants. |
