Search

Bee-eaters of the Thai-Malay Peninsula

on 26th May 2008

Bee-eaters belong to the family Meropidae. There are 25 species, mostly African. A few are found in Asia, two in Eurasia and one in Australia.

11146.jpg22213.jpg

Thailand has six species of bee-eaters: Chestnut-headed (Merops leschenaulti) (above left), Blue-tailed (M. philippinus ) (above right), Green (M. orientalis) (below left), Blue-throated (M. viridis) (below right), Red-bearded (Nyctyornis amictus) (bottom left) and Blue-bearded (N. athertoni) (bottom right).

3335.jpg11147.jpg

Malaysia has four species, lacking only Blue-bearded and Green Bee-eater. Singapore has only Blue-throated and Blue-tailed, the former a common resident and an uncommon winter visitor while the latter a common passage migrant and winter visitor.

11148.jpg4442.jpg

Of the six species, Blue-tailed, Blue-throated and Green have the elongated central tail feathers. Blue-bearded and Red-bearded both have shaggy blue and red “beard” respectively, these being long, loose throat feathers.

As a family, these birds are fairly uniform in appearance and thus easily recognised. Their plumage is colourful and gorgeous – predominantly green, with patches of blue, red, yellow and black. Many wear a black mask and bear a prominently long, slender and slightly decurved bill. Males and females are generally not distinguishable as sexual dimorphism is uncommon.

The sharp points of the bill function like forceps, enabling the bird to pick insects out of the air. Small insects are simply crushed by the powerful jaws while larger ones are carried to a perch where they are beaten against the branch. As the name implies, it has the ability to de-venom and de-sting bees before swallowing them. Its main hunting technique is to hawk insects from an exposed perch.

These birds excavate nest burrows in steep earth banks or hillocks.

Input and all images by Dr Eric Tan except Red-bearded Bee-eater by Harry Ong.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
638
7574
Visitors Today
51780701
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)