Ethiopian bee-eater
Ethiopian bee-eater | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Meropidae |
Genus: | Merops |
Species: | M. lafresnayii
|
Binomial name | |
Merops lafresnayii Guérin-Méneville, 1843
|
The Ethiopian bee-eater (Merops lafresnayii) is a species of
The Ethiopian bee-eater is a rainforest bird usually found solitarily. It perches on a high branch in the canopy beside tracks and clearings and swoops down on small butterflies, honeybees, and other insects before returning to its original perch.
Though its species distribution is fairly well documented, very little information is known about the mating patterns of the Ethiopian bee-eater. Their habitat largely consists of places of medium to high humidity, where heavy rainfall persists throughout the year, mainly within the rainforests that make up a large portion of south-western Ethiopia and parts of Sudan.
Description
The feathers on the back of a typical Ethiopian bee-eater are green, with a russet undercarriage, a yellow throat, and a dark blue band around their crown, eyes, and across their breast. In flight, a black stripe and additional russet feathers can be viewed beneath their back and along the underside of their wings. From above, the Ethiopian bee-eater’s wing feathers appear tawny near the inside and azure blue moving closer to the outside, with a black stripe along the back of their wings.[3]
Diet
Ethiopian bee-eaters are an
Behavior
Ethiopian bee-eaters behave much like other species in the Meropidae family in that they are both
Nest
Ethiopian bee-eaters form their nests by digging horizontal tunnels in vertical walls, with an elliptical enclosure at the end for them to store their clutch.[6] They lay a single clutch each year, which usually consists of 5 eggs.
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2021). "Merops lafresnayii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ a b "Ethiopian Bee-eater - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ "Ethiopian Bee-eater (Merops lafresnayii) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ISSN 2771-3105.
- ^ a b c "Bee-eater | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants". animals.sandiegozoo.org. Retrieved 2023-10-20.