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Little Green Bee-Eater


Little Green Bee-Eater
Photo Information
Copyright: Vishal Sabharwal (shal) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 260 W: 69 N: 475] (2118)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-10-02
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D70s, Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D AF ED, UV Filter
Exposure: f/4, 1/800 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-10-18 9:36
Viewed: 1019
Points: 30
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. 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. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It always has green upper parts, but the head and underpart colours vary widely depending on the race. Thus, southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts, whereas Arabian breeders have a green crown, blue face and bluish underparts. The wings are green and the beak is black. It reaches a length of 16-18 cm, including the two elongated central tail feathers. These elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles. Sexes are alike.

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 catholic in its habitats further east. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, 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. They readily make use of fence wires and electric wires. 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 often solitary nesters, making a tunnel in sandy banks. The breeding pairs are often joined by helpers. They sometimes form small colonies, or nest near other bee-eaters. They lay 4 to 8 spherical white eggs. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds roost communally, lined up on a tree branch. The call is a soft trill.

A study showed that Little Green Bee-eaters are capable of putting themselves in the place of other animals. They were able to predict whether a predator at a particular location would be capable of spotting their nest entrance and behaving appropriately. The ability to look from another's point of view was usually believed to be possessed only by the primates.
Source:Wikipedia
coasties, labfam, shirgold, glazzaro has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

very nice composition, really artistic. I love that the whole pic is green. TFS Ori

  • Great 
  • Rolf Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 59 W: 0 N: 27] (196)
  • [2006-10-18 10:30]

Nice shot!
TFS
Rolf

What an awesome creature! Your picture is beautiful... Very sharp with a soft blurry background. Excellent!

Hi Vishal

Beautiful! Love the colour. Nicely composed with all the technical stuff looking spot on. :-)

Qu' ils sont beaux vos oieaux,bien net,colorés,superbe. Amicalement Thomas

  • Great 
  • odin Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 183 W: 1 N: 207] (1157)
  • [2006-10-18 15:25]

Beautyfull little one Vishal, i like the color and the presentation, good details too. Well done
Sébastien

Hi Vishal,

Great shot. Composition and DOF very good.

TFS
Leon

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2006-10-18 21:21]

Hello Shal

A beautiful composition of this little bee eater.I really like the colours.Excellent DOF and POV,with a lovely blurred BG.TFS

Rob

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3059 W: 231 N: 6135] (20978)
  • [2006-10-18 23:19]

What a little gem of a bird, Vishal.
The colors are just gorgeous.
Excellent details and light.
The composition and DOF are great too.
TFS. : )

HI Vishal,
Lovely capture of a lot of green :-)
The bird is so nice and has good details.
I think a tighter crop would show even more details
TFS - Shir

  • Great 
  • dkaved Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 266 W: 18 N: 433] (2106)
  • [2006-10-22 17:27]

Hi Vishal,
I like the softness of the image...a good mood.The bird is very clear and sharp based on the good DOF and the deeply blurred background.This was well done as the colours would have blended.Good work and TFS.
Regards, David

Beautiful bird, nice detail, exposure and an excellent BG.

Greg

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2244 W: 188 N: 1929] (8127)
  • [2006-10-24 16:31]

Hello Vishal,
whgat a georgeous little bird. I like the colors and the sharp details. Excellent POV and light.
Lovely composition and framing
TFS..Sky

  • Great 
  • GLEM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 526 W: 87 N: 697] (6099)
  • [2006-10-29 12:44]

bonjour Vishal,

un beau cliché, avec des teintes vertes variées. L'oiseau se confond avec l'arrière plan, très bien vu.

tfs

  • Great 
  • Alaz (151)
  • [2006-11-05 19:13]

very well composed...
the way the bee-eater is facing to the right, you can see the eyes, the beak and the whole outline of the head....the blurred greenish backgound gives emphasis to the subject...
TFS Alaz

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