Scientific name: Merops bulocki
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae

Click for map of bird's location
Press the back button on the browser to return to this page

The Red-throated Bee-eater has a large range throughout most of Africa. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat flying insects, especially bees and wasps, which are caught in the air by sallies from an open perch While they will pursue any type of flying insect, honey bees predominate in their diet. Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. Notably, the birds only catch prey that are on the wing and will ignore flying insects once they land.