Merops bullockoides
The White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) is a striking and highly social avian gem of sub-Saharan Africa, immediately recognizable by its brilliant plumage and active aerial foraging. Measuring approximately 20-24 cm in length with a wingspan of 30-35 cm and weighing around 30-40g, its most distinctive features include a pristine white forehead contrasting sharply with a black mask, a vibrant yellow throat, and a brilliant green body. The chestnut-colored belly and underwings, along ...
Found in a variety of open wooded habitats, savannas, grasslands, and particularly along riverine ecosystems where suitable earth banks for nesting are available, typically at low to mid-elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on a wide array of flying insects, with a strong preference for bees, wasps, and dragonflies, captured during agile aerial sallies.
White-fronted Bee-eaters are highly diurnal and exceptionally social birds, forming large, noisy colonies that can number in the hundreds. They roost communally in dense vegetation or within their nesting burrows. Foraging involves aerial hawking; they sally from exposed perches to snatch flying ...
The White-fronted Bee-eater is widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, forming an extensive belt from Senegal and The Gambia in the west, through Central Africa, and extending east to Ethiopia and Somalia, southwards through Kenya, Tanzania, and into much of Southern Africa including Angola...
Least Concern
- White-fronted Bee-eaters are one of the best-studied examples of cooperative breeding in birds, with up to five non-breeding helpers assisting a breeding pair. - They have a unique method of disarming stinging insects: they rub the insect against a branch to remove the venomous stinger before c...