The black-headed bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in forests in tropical Central and West Africa, its range including Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
Region
West and Central Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland tropical rainforests from West Africa into the Congo Basin, including forest edges, clearings, and gallery forests. It is most frequently seen along rivers, logging tracks, and natural gaps where sightlines allow aerial sallies. The species favors midstory to canopy-level perches but will descend to lower strata in openings. It generally avoids open savanna and heavily degraded habitats.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A forest-dwelling bee-eater of West and Central Africa, it often hunts from shaded perches within rainforest clearings and along tracks. Like other bee-eaters, it removes stings from wasps and bees by rubbing them against a perch before swallowing. Courtship frequently involves aerial chases and the male offering insect gifts to the female.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile sallies
Social Behavior
Often seen in pairs or small groups perched quietly before making swift aerial forays. Breeding pairs maintain territories around nest sites and engage in food-passing courtship. Nests are typically in burrows excavated in earthen banks or level ground within forest clearings, with both sexes participating in excavation and rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are soft, rolling and musical, often a repeated prrit or trilled purr given in flight or from a perch. Vocalizations carry well through forest openings but are less insistent than many open-country bee-eaters.
Plumage
Striking black head contrasting with vivid green upperparts; warm rufous to orange throat; underparts tinged green to bluish with paler belly. Wings are green with darker flight feathers, and the tail shows bluish tones with slightly elongated central feathers.
Diet
Feeds mainly on flying insects, especially bees, wasps, and other hymenopterans, as well as dragonflies, butterflies, and beetles. Prey is usually captured on the wing during quick sallies from a perch. Stinging insects are subdued and de-stung by rubbing and squeezing them against the perch before swallowing.
Preferred Environment
Hunts from midstory perches along forest edges, trails, rivers, and natural canopy gaps where aerial insects are abundant. Will also forage above clearings and over streams where insect traffic is concentrated.
