Discover Top Posts Tagged with #merops persicus

April 1, 2020 - Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus)

Breeding in parts of Northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, these bee-eaters winter in parts of central, eastern, and southern Africa. They primarily eat bees, wasps, and hornets on their breeding grounds and dragonflies in their winter range, hunting in short flights from perches. Laying their eggs mostly between March and June, they nest in long tunnels in sandy banks, cliffs, or shores.

#blue-cheeked bee-eater #bee eater #merops persicus #bird #birds #illustration #art #grassland #birblr art

Merops persicus by Ian White

#bird #birds #animal #animals #biology #nature #wildlife #fauna #Coraciiformes #Meropidae #Merops #Merops persicus

Blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus)

The blue-cheeked bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae.It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed and live year-round in the Sahel. This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird.It can reach a length of 31 cm, with the two elongated central tail feathers adding another 7 cm. This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical semi-desert with a few trees, such as acacia. It winters in open woodland or grassland. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes more dragonflies than any other food item.

photo credits: Sharp Photography, Dr. Raju Kasambe, Derek Keats