The name bee eater got my attention when I was reading Leopard Mountain Game Lodge's latest newsletter and came across the following:
A number of sightings of different species of Bee-Eaters have been shared amongst the guides. Not only are we seeing large amounts of little Bee-Eaters, there are also large flocks of European Bee-Eaters in the area, as well as white fronted Bee-Eater pairs all around the reserve.
I decided to find out more about these pretty, colourful birds... mostly as I wanted to know if they really do eat actual bees, and if so how do they not get stung?
Fast facts on bee eaters
On Wikipedia I learned about the life and times of bee eater birds... the following are those facts I personally found interesting.
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There are 26 different species of bee-eaters. Most are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea.
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They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers.
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All have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar.
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As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat flying insects, especially bees and wasps, which are caught in the air. Honey bees are their favourite food of choice
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Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface. During this process, pressure is applied to the insect thereby extracting most of the venom.
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The plumage of the family is generally very bright and in most species dominated or at least partly green
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They live in large colonies
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Pairs sitting together are often so close together that they touch (described as having an individual distance of zero)
Bee eaters in SA
On Birds in SA's website I found the following list of bee eater species found in Southern and South Africa...
(You can click on any of the names to go through to their site for info specific to each)
