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Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Merops leschenautti

Description:

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, with blue on the rump and lower belly. Its face and throat are yellow with a black eye stripe, and the crown and nape are rich chestnut. The thin curved bill is black. Sexes are alike, but young birds are duller. This species is 18–20 cm long; it lacks the two elongated central tail feathers possessed by most of its relatives.

Habitat:

This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical open woodland, often near water. It is most common in highland areas. 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.These bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 5 to 6 spherical white eggs are laid

Notes:

Migratory

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3 Comments

Jared Hersch
Jared Hersch 11 years ago

BRILLIANT photos of a spectacular bird.

GonçaloFerreira
GonçaloFerreira 11 years ago

Vibrant

NuwanChathuranga
NuwanChathuranga 11 years ago

pretty!

Wellawaya UP, Sri Lanka

Spotted on Nov 25, 2012
Submitted on Nov 25, 2012

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