The European bee-eater is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African population, the species is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its usual range, with occasional breeding in northern Europe.
Region
Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia
Typical Environment
Breeds in open, warm landscapes with sparse trees, such as river valleys, farmland, grasslands, quarries, and sandy banks suitable for burrowing. Roosts communally in trees or shrubs near foraging areas. Winters mainly in tropical Africa, using savannas, woodland edges, and riverine habitats. Often associated with watercourses and exposed sandy or loess cliffs for nesting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2200 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A vividly colored aerial insect hunter, the European bee-eater specializes in catching bees and wasps on the wing. It removes stingers by striking prey against a perch and squeezing out the venom sac before swallowing. Birds nest colonially in long burrows excavated into sandy banks, often returning to traditional sites year after year.
Eggs of Merops apiaster
Bee-eater colony destroyed by bee-keepers. The entrance into the bee eater's galleries was deliberately blocked with stones
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
agile and buoyant with quick wingbeats and short glides
Social Behavior
Highly gregarious, forming colonies that excavate nesting tunnels in sandy banks. Pairs are generally monogamous, and both sexes incubate and feed the young; cooperative breeding may occur. Outside the breeding season, birds roost and forage in loose flocks.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Calls are clear, rolling, and fluty, often rendered as prreee or prruuk, carrying well over open country. Flocks give a lively chorus of liquid, bell-like notes during flight and around colonies.
Plumage
Bright, sleek plumage with a glossy, multicolored appearance; elongated central tail feathers and a smooth, compact contour.
Diet
Primarily bees, wasps, and other flying insects such as dragonflies, beetles, and butterflies. Prey are caught in aerial sallies from exposed perches. Before swallowing stinging insects, the bird rubs them on the perch to remove the stinger and venom sac. Diet composition shifts with local insect abundance and weather.
Preferred Environment
Hunts over open fields, river corridors, orchards, and steppe-like habitats with scattered perches. Frequently forages near nesting colonies and along edges of water where insect activity is high.
