Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Coraciiformes Family: Meropidae Genus: Merops Species: superciliosus
Binomial name
Merops superciliosus

The Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Merops superciliosus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southeast Asia and also in Madagascar and neighbouring coasts of Africa. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical east Africa, India and further south in southeast Asia. This species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 23-26 cm, including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike.

This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical open country, such as farmland, parks or ricefields. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes bees and dragonflies in roughly equal numbers.

These bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 5 to 7 (only 2 or 3 in Madagascar), spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds also feed and roost communally. The call is similar to European Bee-eater.