(A) Carmine bee-eater (Merops nibicus nubicoides )
(B) White fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)
(C) Swallow tail bee- eater (Merops hirundineus)
(D) Little bee-eater
(Merops pusillus)
(E) European
bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Birds are animals that
have wings and feathers in other ways it can be explained as any of a class
(Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or
less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings.
Therefore, birds can be classified as members of the animal kingdom, belonging
to the phylum chordate, and classified under the Aves class. Among the various bird types are the above
birds commonly called Bee-eater birds.
Bee- eater birds are
members of the order coraciiform in the group of near- passerine birds (belong to any of the perching birds) in
the family Meropidea. Under this family are many various species of the bee-
eater birds some of the species given above are found in Zambia.
Habitat
and distribution
They are widely
distributed in Zambia, can be found in swamps and river banks. They make their
nests in the burrows tunneled in the sandy barrows especially those that have
collapsed on the edge of the rivers amazing in that in their burrows that leads
to their nest are also escape routes that are used to escape when any form of
danger is detected. The eggs of these birds are white in colour, however, the
eggs vary in number from 2-9 eggs depending on the kind of species, most of these
bee-eaters are monogamous and parental care that involves both sexes and times
the help of other colony members.
DESCRIPTION
The bee- eater birds
morphologically share common features with their close relatives of the order
coraciiform such as the kingfisher and the rollers.
Bee-eater birds are
characterized by bright plumage (feathers) with slender bodies, longed central
tail feathers, short-necked as well as short legs. Their bills (beaks i.e. the part of the mouth) are usually long,
curved and end in sharp point. The bill is used as a pair of pincers with which
is used for snatching insects from the air and consequently crushing smaller
insects.
Their feet’s are
slightly weak, with shape claws which are used for perching on vertical
surfaces as well as exaction during nesting.
The wings are pointed
and down- turned, which gives them a swallow like appearance when seen from
afar. These wings may be rounded or pointed. The shape of the wings can be used
to determine the kind of foraging habitat as well as the migratory tendencies. Short
rounded wings are found on species that make short foraging flights in denser
forests while those which are more migratory have longer elongated wings. However,
all Bee-eater birds are highly aerial and able to change direction quickly
while in flight.
The plumage of all
members of this family Meropidea, are
generally very bright, where most species are dominated or at least partly coloured
green. Others don’t at all possess the green colour, for instance the Black
Bee-eater, Blue headed Bee-eater and the Rosy Bee-eater. There are however,
little differences in the sexes of these birds. In most of these bee–eaters species
the iris is red in males and blown-red in females. The tail of some species of
the bee-eat birds have long streamers ending with expanded spatula, in these
species the streamers may be slightly long in males.
Behavior
The bee-eater are
active during the day (diurnal) although some species may migrate at night
especially when they encounter terrains not suitable for stoppages such seas
and lakes.
The birds exist in
stable colonies located in nesting cliffs having stable structures all year
round. The colonies comprises often of clans, these clans may consist of 2 or 3
pairs of these birds, helpers and offspring’s. The pairs sitting together are
usually close together having a zero individual distance. Although many species
are colonial in bleeding seasons others are highly gregarious in none bleeding
seasons.
About 10% of the these
birds daily activities constitute of sunning themselves, dusting, rigorous
preening and water bathing when water is
available in order to keep the skin
health, these activities are referred to as comfort activities. 
Beer-eater birds
consumes largely insects especially bees, and wasps which are caught in the air
by rushing out suddenly at the insect from an open perch. Their diet comprises
of about 26% - 96% of insects with honey bee making the larger portion of the
diet. Actually before the insect is eaten the birds removes the tings from the
insects by hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface, this act helps
remove venom from the insects. However, within the colony some individuals play
kleptoprasitism (stealing prey collected by other members).
Below is the
classification.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes (bee-eaters,
hornbills, rollers, hoopoes, kingfishers and others)
Suborder: Meropes (only
bee-eaters)
Family: Meropidae
(bee-eaters, 25 species)
Genus: Meropogon
Genus: Nyctyornis
Genus: Merops (22
species)
Species:
Merops bullockoides - White-fronted Bee-eater
Species:
Merops nubicus - Carmine Bee-eater
Subspecies: Merops nubicus nubicus - Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Subspecies: Merops nubicus nubicoides - Southern Carmine Bee-eater
Share
with us your experiences, comments and recommendations. Send emails to wildlifemgtsociety@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment