Spectacularly colorful and unmistakable long-billed insect-eater with a bright yellow throat, gemstone-blue belly, and flame-colored back. Found in open and semiopen country, mainly in drier areas; nests colonially in burrows dug into sand banks, often river banks. Usually seen perched on wires or circling in swallowlike flight, often in small groups; feeds by catching insects (especially bees) on the wing. Quite vocal, often giving distinctive pipping calls.
European Bee-eater feeds mainly on insects such as Hymenoptera, Diptera and Odonata, and also termites, butterflies and grasshoppers. It hunts while flying, or by sallies from exposed perches. The bees, wasps, hornets and similar species are killed by striking against a hard surface to remove the sting.
The Bee-eater is only an occasional breeder in the UK and since the first recorded nesting in Scotland in 1920, there have only been 11 documented instances of breeding.
As their name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat flying insects, especially bees and wasps, which are caught on the wing from an open perch.
The best time to take pictures is 2 hours after sunrise and 3 hours before sunset. At those times the lighting is soft, the tones are warm and emphasize the vivid colors of the birds. Bee-eaters are active all day long but the distribution of light and shade might be burnt under the midday sun.
It's the European Bee-eater. These technicolour wonders normally nest in southern Europe and north Africa before heading down to southern Africa in winter. Like many Bee-eaters, they like company, nesting together in small groups where they can be heard chattering away with a “prrrp prrrp prrrp” call.
Bee eaters tend to have a lifespan of approximately six years, although certain species, such as the green bee eater, can live up to 20 years when cared for in captivity.
The difficulties of migration and avoiding predators along the way affect every bird. Bee-eaters today also find it harder to find food, as there are fewer insects around as a result of pesticides. Breeding sites are also disappearing, as rivers are turned into concrete-walled canals.
The European bee-eater is a richly-coloured bird of approximately 28 cm in length and a slightly downturned thin beak. They catch large insects in flight by sorts from a perch. An exceptional eyesight allows them to locate preys at a distance up to 20 meters, so they eat flies, dragonflies, butterflies wasps and of course bees, hence its common name.
Bee-eaters nest in almost every kind of habitat but they avoid high mountain areas and dense forests. They dig their nests in slopes or banks where they build a small chamber to lay 4 to 6 eggs that will be brood for approximately 20 days. Three weeks later the newly hatched birds will show their heads out of the nest and on the fourth week they will start flying.
This species belongs to the Meropidae family distributed along southern Europe, central Russia, west of Siberia, Lower Asia, Middle East, Mediterranean Islands, North Africa and South Africa.
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