• Source: White-throated bee-eater

The white-throated bee-eater (Merops albicollis) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara, Africa. The white-throated bee-eater is migratory, wintering in a completely different habitat in the equatorial rain forests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda.




Description



This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, but its face and throat are white with a black crown, eye stripe, and neckband. The underparts are pale green shading to blue on the breast. The eye is red and the beak is black.
The white-throated bee-eater can reach a length of 19–21 cm, excluding the two very elongated central tail feathers, which can exceed an additional length of 12 cm. They weigh between 20 and 28 grams. Sexes are alike, except that the male has longer tail feathers. The call is similar to European bee-eater.




Habits


White-throated bee-eaters also feed and roost communally. 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. However, this species probably takes mainly flying ants and beetles.




Nesting


The white-throated bee-eater is a bird which breeds in dry sandy open country, such thorn scrub and near-desert. These abundant bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. They make a relatively long 1–2 m tunnel in which the 6 to 7 spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, but up to five helpers also assist with caring for the young.




Status


Widespread and common throughout its large range, the white-throated bee-eater is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.




References



Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers by Fry, Fry and Harris, ISBN 0-7136-8028-8




External links



BirdLife Species Factsheet

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Kirik-kirik eropa
• Kirik-kirik hijau
• Kirik-kirik senja
• Kirik-kirik laut
• Kirik-kirik sulawesi
• Kirik-kirik australia
• Kirik-kirik biru
• White-throated bee-eater
• Bee-eater
• Blue-cheeked bee-eater
• Little bee-eater
• Swallow-tailed bee-eater
• European bee-eater
• Blue-tailed bee-eater
• Chestnut-headed bee-eater
• Olive bee-eater
• Rainbow bee-eater