Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...

Bee-eaters

The bee-eaters, belonging to the family Meropidae, are comprised of three genera and thirty species, most of which inhabit Africa and Asia, with some found in Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. These birds are known for their vibrant plumage, slender builds, and typically elongated central tail feathers, along with long bills that curve downwards and medium to long wings. Males and females are similar in appearance, and they predominantly feed on flying insects, such as bees and wasps, by catching them mid-flight and neutralizing their stings through a specialized behavior. Bee-eaters live sociably, often forming colonies and nesting in burrows in sandy banks with both parents caring for the offspring, sometimes with help from other colony members. First identified by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz in 1815, bee-eaters have been variously linked to families such as kingfishers and rollers, though these relationships are distant. While they display significant uniformity in their physical attributes, species have different lifestyles and foraging habits. The birds are found in different habitats and migrate seasonally in some regions. Bee-eaters engage in social behaviors including colony living where mating pairs may have helpers in rearing young. Their nests can be vulnerable to predation by snakes, rodents, and other animals, and they can carry various parasites. Bee-eaters are not considered endangered, but certain species have been impacted by human activity and habitat loss. They are culturally significant and have been mentioned in ancient literature and mythology, though not often depicted in classical art. Despite the threats to their nesting sites and occasional conflicts with beekeeping activities, bee-eaters contribute ecologically by controlling insect populations and have a global conservation status of "least concern."

Regions

African Green Bee-eater

Merops viridissimus
A photo of a Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

Bee-eater

Merops apiaster
A photo of a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus)

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Merops persicus
A photo of a White-throated Bee-eater (Merops albicollis)

White-throated Bee-eater

Merops albicollis
App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.
1
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Species Categories

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
Louise L
Easy to use and accurate
Love this app. It is easy to use and accurate, Their backup communication is really good. I noted a missing species. All through the process, I was kept informed about the progress in correcting the information. I now have the corrected, updated version. 😁 Thanks!
EandB17
Terrific App for Birders
Downloaded Birda around the time my interest in birding was sparked, and it has been a terrific app to help me (1) share my experience, (2) document my sightings, and (3) learn more about birds in general. That said, I also believe Birda is a fantastic app for birders of all experience levels. Great community!
Leonie
We've been waiting for an App like this
Excellent! We've been waiting for an app like this! Thank you! It would be nice if you could assign additional birds to sessions later!
Talli A
My favourite app
As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁
Dunners12345
Great App
Great app to use for logging and communicating with others who are interested in birds
Bryan C
Clean and easy to use
Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.
Marlster24
Recommend for any bird watcher
Very wholesome app: I joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😃
Foxgirl100
Great app for beginner twitchers
I’ve had a passion of photographing birds for a long time now but have only just gotten into proper birdwatching, and this app is brilliant for those just getting started. There is a great sense of community among users and the app is very easy to use and professional. Awesome app altogether
Chudbond
Love Birda
I love this app. It really encourages you to log your sightings and the community is friendly and helpful.
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.