Class: AVES

Order: CORACIFORMES

Family: MEROPIDAE

Genus: MEROPS

Species: APIASTER

This species of bee-eater is considered to be one of the most colourful birds of the European continent. It is also known as the European Bee-Eater, though it winters also in Africa. Its range is mainly based around the Mediterranean, though it extends further into Asia, as far north as southern Russia. A resident population also exists in South Africa. It is the only bee-eater which has a range within Europe. The plumage is richly varied – the area below the beak is yellow, the top is reddish brown, and the underbelly and wing-tips are blue. The sexes are alike in plumage, though in females the underbelly is more turquoise. In Europe, these birds are to be found inhabiting open country, where plants are in abundance. In Africa, it also tolerates savannah. One of almost thirty species within Merops, it was described first by Linnaeus in 1758, whose scientific name, Merops apiaster, remains in use today. It is believed to be a sister species of the Rainbow Bee-eater, M. ornatus, - whose common ancestor lived about 5 million years or so ago.

The Mediterranean bee-eater typically lives in colonies of variable size, and in Asia shares colony with the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus. In their first migratory year, birds will pair up at African wintering grounds, before migrating together to the male’s site of fledging. After which, the birds excavate an opening within a cliff, a process which takes up to 20 days, and excavates up to 12 kilogrammes of earth. When the nest is formed, anywhere from 4 to 10 eggs, depending on location [Russian birds appear to yield more eggs than do other population] are laid, at intervals of about 2 days. Incubation is rather sporadic when the first egg is laid, but by the laying of the third egg, incubation is a more regular occurrence. As well as egg yield, incubation is also variable on location – in South Africa it is only 13 days, though in the Palearctic [Africa and Eurasia], it lasts 20 days or more. Also in the Palearctic, only the female incubates the eggs, though in South Africa, both parents do so. In the Palearctic, either parent tends to the eggs for up to an hour, but in South Africa intervals last up to 3 hours. After a 6-day period of hatching, the adult weight of about 55 grammes is achieved. After about a month, they leave the nest. In Europe, 4 chicks are tended to, though in South Africa only one chick is usually. The oldest specimen found lived to about 6 years of age.

As suggested by the name, bees have been observed to be the most important food item in this bee-eater’s diet – in Europe, bumblebees and honeybees are the main diet, though in Africa it eats various families of wasps as well. It is also an opportunistic insectivore – meaning it will also eat various other insects of other orders. Mediterranean bee-eaters appear to be attracted to fires so that they can exploit fleeing insects. When in flight, these bee-eaters are on constant search for insects. Given their social lifestyle, some authorities believe there to be about 20 million of these birds on Earth today – with a stable population in essentially no danger of extinction, though they are occasionally persecuted by farmers who see them as pests. However, their striking plumage means that they also attract wildlife tourists and birders to their native habitat. They are also frequently kept in European zoos, where they are fed on a diet of mealworms which is supplemented with nutrient-rich powder.