Bee-eater

All the colors

European bee-eaters are among the most vividly colored birds in Europe — a combination of chestnut-brown head, golden-yellow throat, turquoise-green underparts, and blue tail. In tropical African and Asian species, the color combinations become even more elaborate. The rainbow bee-eater of Australia is named for good reason.

The 27 bee-eater species all share a similar hunting style and social behavior, varying mainly in plumage and precise geography.

Mastering the sting

Before swallowing a bee, wasp, or hornet, a bee-eater:

1. Flies back to a perch with the prey in its bill
2. Beats the insect repeatedly against the perch to discharge the venom
3. Rubs the tip of the abdomen against the perch to remove the stinger
4. Then swallows the insect whole

The entire process takes a few seconds. Bee-eaters can consume 200–300 bees per day without being stung — though they occasionally are. They appear to develop some immunity to bee venom over time.

Colonial nesters

European bee-eaters breed in colonial burrow nesters — groups of 20–200 pairs excavating horizontal tunnels 1–2 meters deep in sandy riverbanks, cliffs, or flat ground. The colonies are noisy, chaotic, and social. Helper birds (often offspring from previous years) assist breeding pairs with incubation and chick feeding.

The sound of a bee-eater colony — a constant chatter of rolling calls — and the sight of birds streaming in and out of their burrows is one of the more spectacular wildlife spectacles of European summers.

A northward range expansion

As summers warm across Europe, bee-eaters are colonizing northward. They now breed regularly in Spain, southern France, Italy, and the Balkans; small numbers attempt to breed in Germany, Switzerland, and increasingly the UK. The first confirmed breeding in Britain occurred in 2002; regular breeding colonies are now established.