European bee eater птица

Discover the European bee-eater and its basic characteristics.

Nature lover, this article will show you everything relevant about the European bee-eater whose scientific name is Merops apiaster.

By way of introduction we can say that this fabulous European bee-eater is extremely colorful, as much as a rainbow and well, its name has been attributed to it because it loves to feed on bees although it is not the only thing it eats, in general it is an insectivorous bird, which means that it does not waste any flying insect that crosses its path. Even though it is not an endangered bird, the European bee-eater has certain threats or enemies, such as beekeepers and barnkeepers or farms where there are slopes or stone or clay-type walls on which European bee-eaters build their nests and even the use of insecticides is something that affects them because they run the risk of eating a poisoned insect.

As you will see in the following sections, the European bee-eater is an interesting bird with its tricks up its sleeve or striking qualities.

We also invite you to read a little about the common bee-eater

The European bee-eater and its traits

Let’s start by mentioning among the features of the European bee-eater its size, which is between between twenty-five and thirty centimeters in length. Then, what stands out the most about the European bee-eater is its colorful appearance, showing blue feathers underneath and above a color like brown and yellow at the same time, yellow is its neck and has a long curved beak. While the area of the pileus and the nape of the neck is brown with yellow tones on the back, the obispillo and the scapulars.

When we speak of the European bee-eater it is necessary to mention that this magnificent bird is in summer when it cheers up Europe with its melodies and its colorful presence that resembles the rainbow and the reason for its long bill and red eyes lies in its character as an insect-eating bird. Continuing with the description of the European bee-eater we can say that when it is adult it has the two feathers in the middle of its tail longer or more protruding than the others and its flight is very agile and spectacular, if the bee-eater feels currents of air does not hesitate for a moment and starts to glide as if it were modeling and the best of all is that it does not have to make an effort to look sensational.

You could also read about the characteristics of the white pigeon

European bee-eater plus characteristics

Regarding the wingspan of the European bee-eater, it is known to be between thirty-five and forty centimeters, its weight on the other hand is between fifty and seventy grams. Normally the European bee-eater moves or formed by a large group of pairs.

Distinguishing the male from the female European bee-eater is not very easy, as both look the same to the naked eye.

However, some people say that female European bee-eaters are greener and European bee-eaters young are paler with the black line delimiting their throat a little fuzzy, not very uniform.

The European bee-eater is catalogued as a professional or specialist hunter of flying insects, they eat butterflies, dragonflies, wasps, bumblebees etc. And even insects with stingers and venom do not escape him because the European bee-eater is so cunning that when it encounters such an insect, it throws it several times until it is knocked down or the sting is detached from its body and then it proceeds to engulf or swallow it.

Another article that we recommend you to read is the one about the characteristics of the condor

Continue learning about the European bee-eater

A relevant aspect of the European bee-eater is that it resembles swallows because it is a migratory bird, because the European bee-eater travels to Europe in summer to breed and feed, but when winter arrives it returns to its true home in tropical Africa. It is very curious the way in which the male European bee-eater conquers the female, the courtship consists of providing her with food, i.e. insects which she can get without much not exceeding fifteen hundred meters above sea level.

The nests of European bee-eaters are built by the female and the male, who with their beaks manage to dig and with their feet stir the earth and take a few two weeks making them, each nest is like a gallery that goes from fifty to two hundred centimeters, this one does not have any kind of lining and is not the neatest because they do not bother to clean the excrement of the young, for which reason this nest will not be used again in the future, although this does not prevent the animal world from opting for On the other hand, each female European bee-eater lays no more than six eggs, and what is striking is that she does not that ensures the life of the first chicks in case food becomes scarce.

More facts about the European bee-eater

The time it takes for the eggs of the European bee-eater to hatch is no more than twenty days, and for the eggs to hatch, the to take their first flight, they are expected to be four weeks or one month old, which coincides with the month of July.

Once the young European bee-eaters are in flight, they start foraging with their parents and prepare for the flight to Africa.

Without further reference to the European bee-eater, we are leaving so that you can know a little bit about the to which group the birds belong

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European Bee-eater

The European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a bird in the family Meropidae.

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Description [ ]

The Bee-eater is 25 to 30 cm long, and has a wingspan of 36 to 40 cm. Its shoulders are yellow, its crown, nape, back and upper panel of the secondary wings are rusty-brown, its throat is yellow bordered by a black stripe, its chest and belly are light blue. A black stripe runs from the beak to the ear coverts, crossing the eye, which is red. The legs are short and pinkish in colour, while the bill is black, long and slightly curved. There is no sexual dimorphism. The juvenile is duller.

Behaviour [ ]

Feeding [ ]

The Bee-eater is a strictly insectivorous bird. It mainly feeds on bees and wasps, which are caught in flight. Before eating an insect, the Bee-eater removes its dangerous stinger by rubbing it against a tree branch.

Breeding [ ]

At the beginning of the breeding season (usually around May), the male tries to attract a female. After a couple is formed, the two birds will start to build their nest. The Bee-eater breeds in small colonies, and couples are sometimes helped by other individuals in building their nest and taking care of their young. It nests in burrows dug in sandy slopes. Up to 10 eggs are laid. It takes about a week for them to hatch, and about two or three weeks for the young to become independent.

Distribution and Habitat [ ]

The Bee-eater breeds in Southern Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East and spends the winter in tropical Africa. A population of birds that live in South Africa all year long also exists. It lives in open woodlands and farmlands, often near rivers.

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European bee-eater

White-throated bee-eater
Böhm’s bee-eater
Black-headed Bee-eater
White-fronted Bee-eater
Red-throated bee-eater
Black bee-eater
Swallow-tailed bee-eater
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
Rosy Bee-eater
Blue-headed Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Green Bee-eater
Rainbow Bee-eater
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
Somali Bee-eater
Olive Bee-eater
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Blue-throated Bee-eater

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First Sighting

The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for «bee-eater», and apiaster is Latin, also meaning «bee-eater», from apis, «bee». It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its range, with occasional breeding in northwest Europe

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Biology [ ]

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It has brown and yellow upper parts, whilst the wings are green and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 27–29 cm (10.6–11.4 in), including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike. Female tends to have greener rather than gold feathers on shoulders. Non-breeding plumage is much duller and with a blue-green back and no elongated central tail feathers. Juvenile resembles a non-breeding adult, but with less variation in the feather colours. Adults begin to moult in June or July and complete the process by August or September. There is a further moult into breeding plumage in winter in Africa.

Behavior and Ecology [ ]

Breeding [ ]

These bee-eaters are gregarious—nesting colonially in sandy banks, preferably near river shores, usually at the beginning of May. They make a relatively long tunnel, in which they lay five to eight spherical white eggs around the beginning of June. Both male and female care for the eggs, which they brood for about three weeks. They also feed and roost communally.

During courtship, the male feeds large items to the female while eating the small ones himself. Most males are monogamous, but occasional bigamy has been encountered. Their typical call is a distinctive, mellow, liquid and burry prreee or prruup.

Feeding [ ]

This bird breeds in open country in warmer climates. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps, and hornets. They catch insects in flight, in sorties from an open perch. Before eating a bee, the European bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It can eat around 250 bees a day.

The most important prey item in their diet is Hymenoptera, mostly Apis mellifera. A study in Spain found that these comprise 69.4% to 82% of the European bee-eaters’ diet. Their impact on bee populations, however, is small. They eat less than 1% of the worker bees in areas where they live.

A study found that European bee-eaters «convert food to body weight more efficiently if they are fed a mixture of bees and dragonflies than if they eat only bees or only dragonflies.»

Predation of honey bees [ ]

If an apiary is set up close to a bee-eater colony, a larger number of honey bees are eaten because they are more abundant. However, studies show the bee-eaters do not intentionally fly into the apiary, rather they feed on the insects caught on pastures and meadows within a radius of 12 km (7.5 mi) from the colony, this maximum distance being reached only when there is a lack of food. Observations show that the birds actually enter the apiary only in cold and rainy periods, when the bees do not leave the hive and other insect prey are harder for the bee-eaters to detect.

Many bee-keepers believe that the bee-eaters are the main obstacle causing worker bees not to forage, and instead stay inside the hives for much of the day between May and the end of August. However, a study carried out in eucalyptus forest in the Alalous region, 80 km (50 mi) east of Tripoli Libya, showed that the bee-eaters were not the main obstacle of bee foraging, which is the opposite of what beekeepers think. The foraging rate was higher in presence of the birds than in their absence in some cases. The average bird meal consisted of 90.8 % honey bees and 9.2 % beetles.

Predation is more likely when the bees are queening or during peak migrations, from late March till mid-April, and in mid-September. Hives close to or under trees or overhead cables are also at increased risk as the birds pounce on flying insects from these perches.

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