Bee-eater
Bee-eater is one of the most colourful birds in the world. The underpart is blue to blue-green and mainly red and orange upperbody although there are some green and blue shades there. Throat is yellow and bill black, and a black stripe crosses a red eye.
What is helpful in observing this bird is its willingness to seat on wires in large numbers, remote trees and other elevated areas where they can look out for insects to eat.
How to recognize young from adult?
Young bee-eater is much less bright and smaller than adults. Chicks do not have longer middle feathers in their tails either.
What do they eat?
Mostly they eat insects caught in a flight. They usually hunt for bees, wasps and humble-bees and occasionally coleopters and dragonflies. Each day during feeding period they have to catch insects equal to mass of 225 bees.
Bee-eaters’ nest
European Bee-eater does not breed in s Africa. They are non breeding Palearctic migrant from September to March or early April.
Wintering
Wintering sites of bee-eaters are located in Africa, south of Sahara desert.
Distribution of European bee-eaters in s Africa
They are found on a range of woodland and shrublands and absent in driest and wettest regions.
Migrations
Bee-eaters just like white storks have two main migration tracks. Birds from south-western Europe go through Strait of Gibraltar and directing to south fly through Sahara. They head for western Africa. Birds from eastern Europe go to southern Africa via Israel.
Birds encounter many difficulties and dangers during their journeys. Some are caused by people. There are countries where bee-eaters are being killed by bee-keepers who treat them as pests. Scientists estimate one out of three bee-eaters leaving Europe in autumn will come back in spring.
