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Green Bee-eater

Conservation status

Least Concern

Population Trend

Increasing

Alternate Names

Asian Green Bee-eater, Small Bee-eater, Little Green Bee-eater

Native Habitat

Scrubland

Diet

Insects

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Green Bee-eater

Merops orientalis

The Green Bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and The Gambia to Ethiopia, the Nile valley, western Arabia and Asia through India to Vietnam. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water.

Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 20cm long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The male and female are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base. The elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles.

Regional Names
  • Arabic:
    وروار أخضر صغير
  • Bengali:
    সবুজ বাঁশপাতি
  • Bulgarian:
    Малък зелен пчелояд
  • Chinese (SIM):
    绿喉蜂虎
  • Czech:
    vlha indická
  • Danish:
    Lille Grøn Biæder
  • Dutch:
    Kleine Groene Bijeneter
  • French:
    Guêpier d'Orient
  • German:
    Smaragdspint
  • Greek:
    Νανομελισσοφάγος
  • Gujarati:
    નાનો પતરંગો, લીલો પતરંગો
  • Hebrew:
    שרקרק גמדי
  • Hindi:
    पतरिंगा, हरियल, हरा पतरंगा
  • Hungarian:
    Smaragdgyurgyalag
  • Icelandic:
    Mýsvelgur
  • Japanese:
    ミドリハチクイ
  • Kannada:
    ಸಣ್ಣ ಕಳ್ಳಿಪೀರ
  • Lithuanian:
    Rytinis bitininkas
  • Malayalam:
    നാട്ടുവേലിത്തത്ത
  • Marathi:
    वेडा राघू, बहिरा पोपट, रानपोपट, पाणपोपट
  • Nepali:
    मुरली चरा
  • Norwegian:
    beryllbieter
  • Persian:
    زنبورخوار سبز
  • Polish:
    żołna wschodnia
  • Portuguese:
    Abelharuco-verde
  • Punjabi:
    ਹਰਾ ਮੱਖੀ-ਖਾਣਾ
  • Russian:
    Изумрудная щурка
  • Serbian:
    Mala zelena pčelarica
  • Slovak:
    včelárik východný
  • Slovenian:
    Smaragdni čebelar
  • Spanish:
    Abejaruco Esmeralda
  • Swedish:
    grön dvärgbiätare
  • Tamil:
    பச்சைப் பஞ்சுருட்டான்
  • Telugu:
    చిన్న పసరిక
  • Thai:
    นกจาบคาเล็ก
  • Turkish:
    Küçük Yeşil Arıkuşu
Media Gallery
Taxanomy

CORACIIFORMES
MEROPIDAE
Merops orientalis

Quick Facts
  • Before eating its meal, a bee eater removes the sting by hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface to extract most of the venom.