Merops hirundineus
The beautiful Swallow-tailed Bee-eater is a highly nomadic bird, especially outside of the breeding season, and inhabits a wide-range of habitats, although they’re mostly associated with arid and semi-arid savannas and woodlands and especially riparian vegetation in these parts. They mostly feed on flying insects, especially bees and wasps, caught on the wing by making short dashes from an open perch. They are quite adept at disarming the stings of their prey by beating and rubbing it against the perch before consuming it. Adults grow to about 21cm in length and 23g in weight.
Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters are usually found in pairs or small flocks. Outside the breeding seaon, which spans spring and summer, they sleep communally, in tightly packed rows on their favourite perches. Pairs are monogamous and make solitary nest tunnels in earth walls, riverbanks or inside mammal burrows. Broods of 2-4 chicks are cared for by both parents.
Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters are distributed widely over the Sahel and Africa south of the equator, and the IUCN considers the species to be of least concern. In South Africa, Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters are mainly found in the Northern Cape, North West, Free State and west of the Limpopo Province, occasionally venturing into other parts of the country.
DeWetsWild 
Love his beautiful green color!
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They’re even prettier in real life!
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Looks like a hummingbird on steroids!
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That’s a very good description, Kathy!
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Lieflike foto’s, Dries!
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Dankie weer, Dina!
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What a beautiful bird, how nice that you were able to get a shot that shows its wingspan.
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Nice of them to be hawking bees right above our heads!
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It looks beautiful in color and also in silhouette. Sounds like they’re clever too in how they catch their prey.
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Perfectly adapted to their way of life!
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wow, pretty!
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For sure, Teresa!
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Extremely beautiful – well caught.
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Thank you so much, Ann-Christine!
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Such a pretty fellow with unusual eating habits. God does amazing work, often with a sense of humor. 🙂
janet
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He must have an amazing sense of humour to put up with all of us and what we do!
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Humor and forgiving tolerance!!
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It’s a beautiful bird as the most birds you have in South Africa!😊 You have winter now but still have so many birds, I’m a little bit jealous.😁
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We’re certainly blessed by the huge variety of wildlife that’s found in our country!
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That swallowtail is a beautiful bird. Fascinating markings.
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I wish you could see it in real life, Tim!
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That would be wonderful. I was fortunate enough to be on safari in Tanzania and got to see many animals and birds. It seems as if your area of southern Africa has a large and diverse number of animals and birds.
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South Africa has an amazing diversity of habitats and species, Tim, and hopefully we’ll continue to do a relatively good job of looking after it!
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That is good to hear. We seem to have an administration here in the U.S.A. that is making an effort to end the good effort that were being done to support ecological sustainability. Ugh!!!
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We’ll all pay dearly if we don’t look after this planet
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Yes, that is true.
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It’s goooorgeous 😍
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We couldn’t agree more!
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That’s a very pretty little bird, but with an odd way of making a living.
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Wonderful how each organism has its place in the intricate web of life!
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‘Beating it before consuming it.’…..goodness. Never underestimate the strength of a very pretty bird!
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That also holds very true in the human world!
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so true!
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This is such a gorgeous little bird, I enjoyed the photos and information. Thank you Dries!
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Glad to know that you did, thanks Liz!
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