The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae.[2] They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.[3] They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis). Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.
| Little bee-eater | |
|---|---|
| |
| M. p. argutus, Namibia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Meropidae |
| Genus: | Merops |
| Species: | M. pusillus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Merops pusillus Müller, PLS, 1776
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Members of this species, like other bee-eaters, are rich and brightly coloured slender birds. They have green upper parts, yellow throats, black gorgets, and rich brown upper breasts fading to buffish ochre on the belly.[4] Their wings are green and brown.[5] Their beaks and legs are black.[6] They reach a length of 15–17 cm, which makes them the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep".
These are abundant and tame birds, familiar throughout their range. There have been estimated to be between 60 and 80 million little bee-eaters. They breed in open country with bushes, preferably near water. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, who are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. Before eating their meal, a bee-eater removes the stinger by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.
Unlike most bee-eaters, these are solitary nesters, making a tunnel in sandy banks, or sometimes in the entrance to an Aardvark den. They lay 4 to 6 spherical white eggs. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds roost communally, lined up on a tree branch.
Subspecies and plumages
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Male and juvenile female -
Hann Park, Dakar, Senegal -
M. p. pusillus, Gambia -
M. p. meridionalis
Samburu National Reserve, Kenya -
At Maasai Mara, Kenya
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Merops pusillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683688A92995977. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683688A92995977.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Nigel Redman; Terry Stevenson; John Fanshawe (2010). Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Socotra. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 473. ISBN 9781408135761.
- ^ Eugene M. McCarthy (2006). Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World. Oxford University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-19-518323-8.
- ^ Nigel Redman; Terry Stevenson; John Fanshawe (2020). Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Socotra. A&C Black. p. 244. ISBN 9781408125809.
- ^ "Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus)". beautyofbirds.com. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ The Ibis: journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. Vol. 4. Wiley-Blackwell. 1874. p. 363.
- Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Illustrated by Alan Harris. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-8028-8.
- Gosler, Andrew, ed. (1991). The Hamlyn photographic guide to birds of the world. Foreword by Christopher Perrins. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-57239-0.
External links
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Media related to Merops pusillus at Wikimedia Commons- Little bee-eater – Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
