Blue-bearded Bee-eater - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Peter Ericsson
Khao Yai, Thailand, November 2004

Nyctyornis athertoni

Identification

31-34cm

• Green upperparts
• Green streaked buff belly
• Pale blue forehead
• Dark blue throat

Distribution

South Asia: China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• N. a. athertoni:

• India to south-western China and South East Asia

• N. a. brevicaudatus:

• Hainan Island (southern China)

Habitat

Clearings in evergreen primary forests.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes bees, wasps, large beetles, and dragonflies.

Breeding

It nests in burrows in banks, and 6 eggs are laid.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Answers.com

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-bearded Bee-eater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-bearded_Bee-eater

External Links

Search for photos of Blue-bearded Bee-eater in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1