| Photo Information |
| Copyright: Prachi Narawade (prachi_narawade) (38) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2009-02-26 |
| Categories: Birds |
| Exposure: f/4, 1/640 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2009-09-18 22:32 |
| Viewed: 281 |
| Points: 0 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Little Green Bee Eater
The Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident in a belt across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and The Gambia to Ethiopia, the Nile valley, western Arabia and Asia through India to Vietnam.
This species should not be confused with the Little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus.
Description
Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16-18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base. Southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts, whereas Arabian beludschicus has a green crown, blue face and bluish underparts. The wings are green and the beak is black. The elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles. Sexes are alike.
The calls is a nasal trill tree-tree-tree-tree, usually given in flight.
Distribution and habitat
This is an abundant and fairly tame bird, familiar throughout its range. It is a bird which breeds in open country with bushes. In Africa and Arabia it is found in arid areas, but is more diverse in its habitats further east. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. It readily makes use of fence wires and electric wires.
They are mostly see in the plains but can sometimes be found up to 5000 or 6000 feet in the Himalayas. They are resident in the lowlands of South Asia but some populations move seasonally but the patterns are unclear. In parts of Pakistan, they are summer visitors.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Bee-eater |
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