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306:. Non-breeding individuals become helpers to relatives and assist to raise their brood. In white-fronted bee-eaters, this helping behavior is particularly well developed, with helpers assisting in half of all nesting attempts. These helpers may contribute to all aspects of the reproductive attempt, from digging the roosting or nesting chamber, to allofeeding the female, incubating and feeding the young; and have a large effect on increasing the number of young produced.
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Female white-fronted bee-eaters leaving their nesting burrows must avoid pursuit by unmated males who may force them to the ground and rape them. Furthermore, their unwelcome attentions are preferentially against females who are laying eggs and who thus might lay the eggs of their rapist rather than
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involved. Non-breeders are most likely to become helpers when breeding pairs are genetically close relatives. When faced with a choice of potential recipient nests, helpers preferentially help the breeding pair to whom they are most closely related, suggesting that this behaviour may serve to
221:
The species has a distinctive white forehead, a square tail, and a bright red patch on its throat. It nests in small colonies, digging holes in cliffs or earthen banks, and can usually be seen in low trees, waiting to hunt passing insects by making quick hawking flights or gliding down before
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This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird, but with a distinctive black mask, white forehead, square tail and a bright red throat. The size is 23 cm (9 in.). The upperparts are green, with cinnamon underparts. The call is a deep squeak.
309:
Only 50% of non-breeders in a colony typically become helpers, and whether or not an individual becomes a helper and to whom it provides aid is heavily dependent on the degree of
295:, but will come to the same colony to roost, socialize, and to breed. White-fronted bee-eaters have one of the most complex family-based social systems found in birds.
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averaging 200 individuals, digging, roosting, and nesting holes in cliffs or banks of earth. A population of bee-eaters may range across many square kilometres of
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Emlen, S. T. & Wrege, P. H. (1986), "Forced copulations and intraspecific parasitism: two costs of social living in the white-fronted bee-eater",
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flights from lower branches of shrubs and trees, or glide slowly down from their perch and hover briefly to catch insects.
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Emlen, S. T. & Wrege, P. H. (1988), "The role of kinship in helping decisions among white-fronted bee-eaters",
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depending on the season and availability of prey. Two hunting methods have been observed. They either make quick
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Emlen, S. T. (1997), "Family
Dynamics of Social Vertebrates", in Krebs, J. R.; Davies, N. B. (eds.),
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270:. The habitat commonly consists of open country, often near
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409:, foreword by Christopher Perrins, London: Hamlyn,
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The Hamlyn photographic guide to birds of the world
384:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683684A92995705.en
259:White-fronted bee-eaters are found in the vast
477:(4th ed.), Cambridge: Blackwell Science,
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475:Behavioural Ecology: An evolutionary approach
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1146:Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)
214:widely distributed in sub-equatorial
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537:White-fronted bee-eater species text
222:hovering briefly to catch the prey.
1126:IUCN Red List least concern species
541:The Atlas of Southern African Birds
432:Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
370:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
330:Their diet is made up primarily of
520:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1986.tb00566.x
334:, but they also take other flying
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287:White-fronted bee-eaters nest in
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274:, where bees, their prey, live.
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359:BirdLife International (2016).
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405:Gosler, Andrew, ed. (1991),
1136:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
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801:Southern carmine bee-eater
796:Northern carmine bee-eater
746:Cinnamon-chested bee-eater
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786:Chestnut-headed bee-eater
716:Blue-moustached bee-eater
180:
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75:Scientific classification
73:
51:
42:
37:
28:
23:
721:Rufous-crowned bee-eater
696:Swallow-tailed bee-eater
691:White-throated bee-eater
642:Purple-bearded bee-eater
546:Video clips from the BBC
377:: e.T22683684A92995705.
283:Nesting and reproduction
24:White-fronted bee-eater
1141:Birds described in 1834
766:Blue-throated bee-eater
736:Blue-breasted bee-eater
731:White-fronted bee-eater
686:Arabian green bee-eater
681:African green bee-eater
646:Blue-breasted bee-eater
202:white-fronted bee-eater
751:Black-headed bee-eater
726:Red-throated bee-eater
671:Blue-cheeked bee-eater
624:Blue-bearded bee-eater
314:increase the helper's
711:Blue-headed bee-eater
701:Blue-tailed bee-eater
676:Asian green bee-eater
619:Red-bearded bee-eater
304:cooperative breeding
166:M. bullockoides
1103:Merops-bullockoides
911:merops-bullockoides
898:Merops_bullockoides
884:Merops bullockoides
854:Merops bullockoides
741:Ethiopian bee-eater
512:1986Ethol..71....2E
444:1988BEcoS..23..305E
363:Merops bullockoides
300:socially monogamous
207:Merops bullockoides
184:Merops bullockoides
45:Conservation status
781:European bee-eater
452:10.1007/BF00300577
298:Colonies comprise
210:) is a species of
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846:Taxon identifiers
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776:Rainbow bee-eater
316:inclusive fitness
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756:Somali bee-eater
666:Little bee-eater
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16:Species of bird
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1131:Merops (genus)
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588:: Meropidae)
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388:. Retrieved
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255:Distribution
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1007:iNaturalist
878:Wikispecies
506:(1): 2–29,
390:13 November
263:regions of
226:Description
38:In Namibia
1120:Categories
1098:Xeno-canto
610:Nyctyornis
582:Bee-eaters
346:References
634:Meropogon
278:Behaviour
212:bee-eater
160:Species:
142:Meropidae
98:Kingdom:
92:Eukaryota
1051:22683684
1025:10218058
937:22683684
932:BirdLife
863:Wikidata
819:Category
500:Ethology
460:33323731
293:savannah
289:colonies
261:savannah
191:Smith, A
138:Family:
112:Chordata
108:Phylum:
102:Animalia
88:Domain:
65:IUCN 3.1
999:2475445
986:wfbeat1
960:wfbeat1
919:Avibase
869:Q649024
829:Commons
601:Species
508:Bibcode
440:Bibcode
340:hawking
336:insects
311:kinship
272:gullies
148:Genus:
128:Order:
118:Class:
63: (
1077:457312
1038:554646
950:115136
906:ARKive
657:Merops
586:family
481:
458:
413:
268:Africa
216:Africa
193:, 1834
153:Merops
1090:10425
1020:IRMNG
981:eBird
973:3ZW58
957:BOW:
595:Genus
456:S2CID
1072:NCBI
1046:IUCN
1033:ITIS
1012:2248
994:GBIF
945:BOLD
479:ISBN
411:ISBN
392:2021
375:2016
332:bees
200:The
122:Aves
1085:TSA
1059:NBN
968:CoL
893:ADW
539:in
516:doi
448:doi
379:doi
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
