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Project Noah Nature School
Merops orientalis,
Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base
This is an abundant and fairly tame bird, familiar throughout its range
An endoparasitic nematode (Torquatoides balanocephala) sometimes infects their gizzard.
Spotted on Jan 25, 2012
Submitted on May 25, 2012
1 Comment
Beautiful!!