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is set up close to a bee-eater colony, a larger number of honey bees are eaten because they are more abundant. However, studies show the bee-eaters do not intentionally fly into the apiary, rather they feed on the insects caught on pastures and meadows within a radius of 12 km (7.5 mi) from
337:
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It has brown and yellow upper parts, whilst the wings are green and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 27–29 cm (10.6–11.4 in), including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike. Female tends
375:
in sandy banks, preferably near river shores, usually at the beginning of May. They make a relatively long tunnel, in which they lay five to eight spherical white eggs around the beginning of June. Both male and female care for the eggs, which they brood for about three weeks. They also feed and
493:, Libya, showed that the bee-eaters were not the main obstacle of bee foraging, which is the opposite of what beekeepers think. The foraging rate was higher in presence of the birds than in their absence in some cases. The average bird meal consisted of 90.8% honey bees and 9.2% beetles.
477:
the colony, this maximum distance being reached only when there is a lack of food. Observations show that the birds actually enter the apiary only in cold and rainy periods, when the bees do not leave the hive and other insect prey are harder for the bee-eaters to detect.
496:
Predation is more likely when the bees are queening or during peak migrations, from late March till mid-April, and in mid-September. Hives close to or under trees or overhead cables are also at increased risk as the birds pounce on flying insects from these perches.
573:
823:
Higes, Mariano; MartĂn-Hernández, Raquel; Garrido-BailĂłn, Encarna; BotĂas, Cristina; GarcĂa-Palencia, Pilar; Meana, Aránzazu (2008). "Regurgitated pellets of Merops apiaster as fomites of infective Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) spores".
346:
resembles a non-breeding adult, but with less variation in the feather colours. Adults begin to moult in June or July and complete the process by August or
September. There is a further moult into breeding plumage in winter in Africa.
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578:
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During courtship, the male feeds large items to the female while eating the small ones himself. Most males are monogamous, but occasional bigamy has been encountered. Their typical call is a distinctive, mellow, liquid and burry
577:
1502:
423:. A study in Spain found that these comprise 69.4% to 82% of the European bee-eaters' diet. Their impact on bee populations, however, is small. They eat less than 1% of the worker bees in areas where they live.
412:. They catch insects in flight, in sorties from an open perch. Before eating a bee, the European bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It can eat around 250 bees a day.
484:
believe that the bee-eaters are the main obstacle causing worker bees not to forage, and instead stay inside the hives for much of the day between May and the end of August. However, a study carried out in
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274:, wintering in tropical Africa. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its usual range, with occasional breeding in northern Europe.
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Systema
Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis
1802:
696:
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1554:
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270:, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African population, the species is strongly
212:
1637:
690:
468:
Bee-eater colony destroyed by bee-keepers. The entrance into the bee eater's galleries was deliberately blocked with stones
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A study found that
European bee-eaters "convert food to body weight more efficiently if they are fed a mixture of bees and
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This bird breeds in open country in warmer climates. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat
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Roulston, TH; Goodell, K (2011). "The role of resources and risks in regulating wild bee populations".
647:
1741:
1421:
833:
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Avery, MI; Krebs, JR; Houston, AI (1988). "Economics of courtship-feeding in the
European bee-eater (
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969:. Mansoura Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 1(12): 1023-1030. Archived from
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Avery, MI; Krebs, JR; Hegner, RE (1984). "A Case of Bigamy in the
European Bee-Eater (
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82:
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930:"Prigonirea prigoriei. [Myths and truths about honey bees and bee eaters ]"
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is much duller and with a blue-green back and no elongated central tail feathers.
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678:(in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 117.
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Feeding bee-eater—the female (in front) waits for the male's offering
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397:
338:
to have greener rather than gold feathers on shoulders. Non-breeding
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Ageing and sexing by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
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932:(in Romanian). Romanian Ornithological Society. Archived from
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forest in the
Alalous region, 80 km (50 mi) east of
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902:
Judith
Goodenough; Betty McGuire; Elizabeth Jakob (2009).
996:"Bee-eater is not to blame for decline in honey bees"
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1170:
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1131:
648:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683756A155512816.en
430:than if they eat only bees or only dragonflies."
1024:European bee-eater videos, photos & sounds
415:The most important prey item in their diet is
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586:Close-up video of a female European bee-eater
8:
692:The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names
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1111:
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719:RSPB Handbook of British Birds (2014). UK
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71:
40:
31:
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371:These bee-eaters are gregarious—nesting
609:
504:
432:
1040:Audio recordings of European bee-eater
908:. John Wiley & Sons. p. 268.
695:. London: Christopher Helm. pp.
7:
1586:6f8ee1a1-6348-4c89-abbf-b3291d516894
1362:
514:Stamp of Moldova -European bee-eater
266:. It breeds in southern and central
1778:IUCN Red List least concern species
1034:The Atlas of Southern African Birds
743:Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
634:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
881:10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144802
25:
325:, also meaning "bee-eater", from
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1060:Feathers of European bee-eater (
846:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01548.x
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1030:European bee-eater species text
1026:on the Internet Bird Collection
905:Perspectives on Animal Behavior
27:Species of bird of genus Merops
994:Carabott, Sarah (2015-10-26).
535:European bee-eater painted by
1:
960:on the behavior of honey bee
956:"The impact of the Bee-eater
554:A pair of Turkish bee-eaters
1808:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
869:Annual Review of Entomology
282:The European bee-eater was
1824:
1339:Southern carmine bee-eater
1334:Northern carmine bee-eater
1284:Cinnamon-chested bee-eater
826:Environmental Microbiology
286:by the Swedish naturalist
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1324:Chestnut-headed bee-eater
1254:Blue-moustached bee-eater
689:Jobling, James A (2010).
641:: e.T22683756A155512816.
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93:Scientific classification
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1803:Birds of Southern Africa
1259:Rufous-crowned bee-eater
1234:Swallow-tailed bee-eater
1229:White-throated bee-eater
1180:Purple-bearded bee-eater
278:Taxonomy and systematics
1788:Birds described in 1758
1304:Blue-throated bee-eater
1274:Blue-breasted bee-eater
1269:White-fronted bee-eater
1224:Arabian green bee-eater
1219:African green bee-eater
1184:Blue-breasted bee-eater
460:Predation of honey bees
1289:Black-headed bee-eater
1264:Red-throated bee-eater
1209:Blue-cheeked bee-eater
1162:Blue-bearded bee-eater
1056:—Photos at Oiseaux.net
621:BirdLife International
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368:
1711:Paleobiology Database
1249:Blue-headed bee-eater
1239:Blue-tailed bee-eater
1214:Asian green bee-eater
1157:Red-bearded bee-eater
802:10.1093/auk/101.3.609
598:Bee-eaters in Britain
467:
454:Each with a dragonfly
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351:Behaviour and ecology
317:for "bee-eater", and
1581:Fauna Europaea (new)
1054:- European Bee-eater
1279:Ethiopian bee-eater
964:L. during foraging"
838:2008EnvMi..10.1374H
755:1988BEcoS..23...61A
63:Conservation status
35:European bee-eater
1319:European bee-eater
1081:2016-11-08 at the
1069:2018-03-04 at the
763:10.1007/BF00299888
470:
421:European honey bee
376:roost communally.
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307:. The genus name
300:under its current
284:formally described
240:European bee-eater
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1698:Open Tree of Life
1384:Taxon identifiers
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1314:Rainbow bee-eater
1050:GuĂŞpier d'Europe
1002:. Valletta, Malta
915:978-0-470-04517-6
725:978-1-4729-0647-2
706:978-1-4081-2501-4
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16:(Redirected from
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1294:Somali bee-eater
1204:Little bee-eater
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229:Distribution of
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1685:Observation.org
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1244:Black bee-eater
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954:Alfallah, H.M.
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297:Systema Naturae
290:in 1758 in the
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1329:Rosy bee-eater
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1607:iNaturalist
1416:Wikispecies
875:: 293–312.
654:12 November
482:bee-keepers
428:dragonflies
417:Hymenoptera
333:Description
1772:Categories
1750:Xeno-canto
1148:Nyctyornis
1120:Bee-eaters
1044:Xeno-canto
1006:2018-06-27
980:2018-06-27
940:2018-06-27
604:References
539:, English
537:John Gould
487:eucalyptus
373:colonially
1172:Meropogon
623:(2019) .
329:, "bee".
272:migratory
264:Meropidae
257:bee-eater
178:Species:
160:Meropidae
116:Kingdom:
110:Eukaryota
1651:22683756
1625:10218706
1446:22683756
1441:BirdLife
1430:BioLib:
1401:Wikidata
1357:Category
1079:Archived
1067:Archived
889:20822447
854:18218034
810:89508037
771:13553144
672:(1758).
592:See also
364:Eggs of
356:Breeding
344:Juvenile
319:apiaster
209:Linnaeus
156:Family:
130:Chordata
126:Phylum:
120:Animalia
106:Domain:
83:IUCN 3.1
1599:2475443
1521:eubeat1
1482:bob8400
1469:eubeat1
1407:Q170718
1367:Commons
1139:Species
834:Bibcode
790:The Auk
751:Bibcode
699:, 251.
501:Gallery
491:Tripoli
410:hornets
408:, and
398:insects
392:Feeding
340:plumage
294:of his
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166:Genus:
146:Order:
136:Class:
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1742:426232
1716:402378
1703:755107
1677:265611
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1124:family
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474:apiary
472:If an
386:prruup
382:prreee
310:Merops
268:Europe
260:family
171:Merops
1737:WoRMS
1729:10422
1620:IRMNG
1573:97085
1542:EUNIS
1516:eBird
1495:3ZW55
1466:BOW:
1459:52572
1133:Genus
974:(PDF)
967:(PDF)
806:S2CID
767:S2CID
480:Many
406:wasps
323:Latin
1690:1386
1672:NCBI
1646:IUCN
1633:ITIS
1612:2191
1594:GBIF
1560:8400
1547:1141
1529:EPPO
1454:BOLD
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910:ISBN
885:PMID
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721:ISBN
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656:2021
639:2019
402:bees
327:apis
253:bird
238:The
213:1758
140:Aves
1724:TSA
1659:NBN
1503:CMS
1490:CoL
1477:BTO
1042:on
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