Thursday 21 January 2010

Little Green Bee-eater



The Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis, (sometimes Little Green Bee-eater) is a near passerine bird (perching birds)  in the bee-eater family. This is a petite little grass green colour bird no bigger than a sparrow. Its green has hints of reddish brown on the head and neck which is ornamented with a prominent black ‘necklace’. The slender bill is slightly curved and could be called long, keeping in mind the size of the bird.
Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird.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.

These birds are generally sitting on this high cable TV wire that stretches between two apartment buildings.  I saw them sitting there from my balcony. 



Here the bird on the left is feeding on a grasshopper.

The small green bee eater is often seen in pairs or parties sitting on phone wires and fence posts in open country .Before feeding, a bee-eater removes stings and breaks the exoskeleton of the prey by repeatedly hitting the insect on their perch.

Info - Wiki and Indiasite.com

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