Animal Pictures Archive mobile
Query: HornetResult: 63rd of 96
Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) - Wiki
Subject: Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) - Wiki
Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus)-forWiki.jpg
Resolution: 240x360 File Size: 22529 Bytes Date: 2007:02:24 13:18:52 Camera: E-300 (OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.) F number: f/6.3 Exposure: 1/640 sec Focal Length: 200/1 Upload Date: 2007:09:10 11:47:48

Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) - Wiki


Little Bee-eater
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Photo] Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) at Hann Park. Dakar, Senegal. Thomas J. Haslam, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tjhaslam/ On 24 February 2007. "I took this photo at Park Hann in Dakar, Senegal."

The Little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It should not be confused with the Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It has green upper parts, yellow throat, black gorget, and rich brown upper breast fading to buffish ocre on the belly. The wings are green and brown, and the beak is black. It reaches a length of 15-17 cm, which makes it the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike.

This is an abundant and tame bird, familiar throughout its range. There have been estimated to be between 60-80 million Little Bee-eaters.

This is a bird which breeds in open country with bushes, preferably near water. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.

Unlike most bee-eaters, these are solitary nesters, making a tunnel in sandy banks, or sometimes in the entrance to an Aardvark den. They lay 4 to 6 spherical white eggs. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds roost communally, lined up on a tree branch. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Bee-eater
The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Comments
Guest
Scientific Name: Merops pusillus Müller, 1776
Common Names: English – Little Bee-eater, French – Guêpier nain
French: Guêpier nain German: Zwergspint Spanish: Abejaruco chico
Taxonomy: Merops pusillus Statius Müller, 1776, Senegal.

Hornet
63/96
| Mobile Home | New Photos | Random | Funny | Films | Korean |
^o^ Animal Pictures Archive for smart phones ^o^