Green Bee-eater

The Green Bee-eater is a small, elegant, mostly grass-green bird with a slender downcurved black bill, a black stripe running through the eye, and a thin blue throat patch bordered below by a fine black gorget. A pair of elongated, wire-like central tail feathers projects beyond the rest of the tail, adding to its graceful silhouette, especially when perched on wires or thin branches.

As its name suggests, the species specializes in catching bees, wasps, and other stinging insects on the wing, skillfully removing venom by beating and rubbing the prey against a perch before swallowing it — a behavior that also protects it from being stung.

Key field marks

• Overall bright grass-green plumage
• Black stripe through the eye; thin blue throat patch edged with a black gorget
• Slender, gently downcurved black bill
• Elongated central tail feathers (wire-like, best seen in flight or at rest)
• Graceful, acrobatic flight with frequent aerial sallies

Similar species

Other bee-eater species, such as the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater or Blue-tailed Bee-eater, are larger with more extensive blue in the plumage; the Green Bee-eater is the smallest and most uniformly green bee-eater across most of its range.

Green Bee-eaters range across a huge area from sub-Saharan Africa through the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent into Southeast Asia. They favor open, dry country: farmland, scrub, grassland, and cultivated land, often perching conspicuously on wires, fences, or bare twigs.

The species is largely resident, though some local seasonal movements occur in response to insect abundance.

Voice

A cheerful, rolling "tree-tree-tree" or "tit-tit" call, often given in flight, contributing to the species' lively, sociable presence in open country.

Feeding

Green Bee-eaters hunt by sallying from an exposed perch to catch flying insects — especially bees, wasps, and dragonflies — in mid-air, returning to the perch to subdue the prey by beating it against the branch before eating it, which removes stingers and venom.

Nesting and breeding

They nest colonially or in loose groups, excavating tunnel burrows in sandy banks, road cuttings, or flat ground, where both parents dig the burrow and feed the chicks. Clutches typically number 4-6 eggs.