The Arabian green bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found throughout arid regions of the Arabian Peninsula from Saudi Arabia south to Yemen and east to Oman and the United Arab Emirates, and has expanded its range north to the Levant over the past few decades.
Region
Arabian Peninsula and Levant
Typical Environment
Occurs across arid and semi-arid zones from Saudi Arabia south to Yemen and east to Oman and the United Arab Emirates, with recent spread into southern Levantine areas such as Israel and Jordan. It favors open country with scattered shrubs and trees, including acacia scrub, wadis, oases, and irrigated farmland. It readily uses human structures and perches such as fence lines and power lines for hunting. In towns and villages it frequents parks, gardens, and date plantations. Coastal plains and inland plateaus with sandy banks for nesting are especially important.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small bee-eater nests in burrows it excavates in sandy banks and road cuttings, often in loose colonies. It has expanded north from the Arabian Peninsula into the Levant in recent decades, aided by irrigation and human-modified habitats. Like other bee-eaters, it deftly removes stings from bees and wasps by striking prey against a perch before swallowing.
Arabian bee-eater attacking a Pea blue butterfly
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile sallies and brief glides
Social Behavior
Often seen in small groups that perch communally on wires or exposed twigs. Pairs are monogamous and dig nest tunnels into sandy or loess banks, frequently nesting in loose colonies. Roosting is communal, and in some cases helpers may assist at nests.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives soft, ringing prrit and prreee notes, often in repeated series during foraging flights. Calls are liquid and buzzing, carrying well over open country.
Plumage
Vivid green overall with a turquoise wash and elongated central tail streamers. A black eye-mask and narrow black throat line contrast with a bluish throat and face. Plumage is sleek and glossy, with subtle golden or turquoise tints depending on light.
Diet
Feeds mainly on flying insects, especially bees and wasps, but also dragonflies, beetles, and butterflies. Prey is captured on the wing after aerial sallies from exposed perches. Before eating stinging insects, it repeatedly strikes them on a perch to remove the sting and venom. Diet varies with local abundance near farms, oases, and wadis.
Preferred Environment
Hunts over open scrub, farmland, date groves, and along wadis where insect activity is high. Frequently uses fences, tree snags, and power lines as vantage points for hawking. Will forage around apiaries and irrigated fields where flying insects concentrate.
