The Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Merops philippinus is a near passerine bird
in the
 bee-eater
family Meropidae. It breeds in southeastern Asia. It is strongly
migratory.
This species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, M. persicus.This species, like other
bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly
green; its face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a
yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. It can
reach a length of 23-26 cm, including the two elongated central tail
feathers. Sexes are alike.
This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical open country, such as
farmland, parks or ricefields. It is most often seen near large
waterbodies. Like other bee-eaters it predominantly eats insects,
especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by
sorties from an open perch.This species probably takes bees and
dragonflies in roughly equal numbers. The insect that are caught are
beaten on the perch to kill and break the exoskeleton. This habit is
seen in many other members of the coraciiformes order.
These bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or
open flat areas. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 5 to 7
spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of
the eggs. These birds also feed and roost communally. The call is
similar to that of the European Bee-eater. |
