Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater

Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater Latest News

Recently, the first breeding site of the Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater (merops persicus) in peninsular India has been discovered in the saltpans of Aandivilai near the Manakudy Mangroves in Kanniyakumari district. 

About Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater

• It is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae.
• It was historically known as passage migrant and winter visitor in India.
• Habitat: This bird favors sub-tropical semi-desert regions dotted with sparse trees, such as acacias, for breeding.
• Behaviour: It may choose to nest solitarily or in small, loose colonies of up to ten individuals. It is also known to share colonies with European bee-eaters. 
• Breeding Range: Its breeding was primarily recorded in regions such as Nile Delta, Pakistan, and Iran while its wintering grounds include parts of Africa.
• In its breeding grounds, this species occupies semi-desert, steppe, dunes, saline pans, cultivation, thorn woodland and sandy slopes with small gulleys, ravines, quarries, pits and embankments.
• It breeds mainly in sand deserts near bodies of water fringed with reeds and tamarisks.
• During the non-breeding season it inhabits a wide variety of greener habitats including savanna, broad river valleys, woods, lakeshores, swamps, ponds, dams, waterworks and cultivation.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Least Concern

Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater FAQs

Q1: Where do blue cheeked bee-eaters live?

Ans: The blue-cheeked bee-eater breeds across Northern Africa and the Middle East, from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. 

Q2: What do blue cheeked bee-eaters eat?

Ans: As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets,

Q3: What is the classification of the blue tailed bee eater?

Ans: The blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae.

Source: TH