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Blue-throated Bee-eater - BirdForum Opus

Rufous-crowned Bee-eater
Photo by Bobby6425
Philippines
Merops viridis

Includes: Rufous-crowned Bee-eater

Identification

21 cm (8¼ in); streamers, a further 9 cm (3½ in)

  • Brown head, nape and upper back
  • Blue throat
  • 9cm long central tail streamers

Sexes similar
Juvenile

  • Green cap and throat
  • Lacks elongated central feathers

Distribution

Asia: found in China

Photo by James Wang
Dongzhai Reserve, Henan Province, China

Southeast Asia: Indochina, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies[1]:

  • M. v. viridis:
  • M. v. americanus:

Habitat

Forest edge, open country and grassland, woodland, scrub, coastal areas and gardens.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes bees, wasps, hornets, ants, dragonflies, grasshoppers, small lizards and fish.

Breeding

They nest in an earth bank, preferring sandy soil. The clutch consists of 3-6 white eggs which are incubated by both parents.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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