Asian green bee-eater

The Asian green bee-eater was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 using its current binomial name. Four subspecies are currently accepted: The African green bee-eater (M. viridissimus, with three subspecies M. v. viridissimus, M. v. cleopatra, and M. v. flavoviridis) and Arabian green bee-eater (M. cyanophrys, with two subspecies M. c. cyanophrys and M. c. muscatensis) were formerly considered conspecific, but were split as distinct species by the IOC in 2021. == Description ==

Like other bee-eaters, this species is a slender, richly coloured bird. It is long excluding the elongated central tail-feathers, which are an additional long. The entire plumage is bright green, tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat, while the crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black eyestripe line runs in front of and behind the eye, and there is also a slender black crescent at the top of the breast below the throat. The iris is crimson and the bill is black, and the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak, with the three toes joined at the base. Southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts, whereas the western subspecies M. o. beludschicus has a greener crown, bluer face and bluish underparts. In flight, the wings are bronzed coppery-green above, and coppery-orange below. The juveniles are paler and duller overall, lack the elongated tail feathers and black throat crescent, and have a yellow-tinged (not blue-toned) throat. == Distribution and habitat ==

This is an abundant and fairly tame bird, familiar throughout its range. It is a bird which breeds in open country with bushes. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a metre or less high. It readily makes use of fence wires and electric wires. Unlike some other bee-eaters, they can be found well away from water. == Behaviour and ecology ==

, Rajasthan, India. , Sri Lanka Like other species in the genus, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before swallowing prey, a bee-eater removes stings and breaks the exoskeleton of the prey by repeatedly thrashing it on the perch. Migration is not known but they make seasonal movements in response to rainfall. The little green bee-eater is also becoming common in urban and sub-urban neighborhoods, and has been observed perching on television antennae, only to launch into a brief, zig-zag flight formation to catch an insect, then return to the same perch and consume the meal. This behaviour is generally observed between the hours of 7:00 and 8:00am, and after 4:00pm. , Uttarakhand The breeding season is from March to June. Unlike many bee-eaters, they are often solitary nesters, making a tunnel in a sandy bank. The breeding pairs are often joined by helpers. They nest in hollows in vertical mud banks. The nest tunnel that they construct can run as much as long and the 3–5 eggs are laid on the bare ground in the cavity at the end of the tunnel. The eggs are very spherical and glossy white. A study suggested that green bee-eaters may be capable of interpreting the behaviour of human observers. They showed an ability to predict whether a human at a particular location would be capable of spotting the nest entrance and then behaved appropriately to avoid giving away the nest location. The ability to look at a situation from another's point of view was previously believed to be possessed only by primates. Riverside habitats were found to support high populations in southern India () dropping off to in agricultural areas and near human habitations. They feed on flying insects and can sometimes be nuisance to bee-keepers. The preferred prey was mostly beetles followed by hymenopterans. Orthopterans appear to be avoided. They are sometimes known to take crabs. Like most other birds they regurgitate the hard parts of their prey as pellets. An endoparasitic nematode (Torquatoides balanocephala) sometimes infects their gizzard. A protozoal parasite in their blood, Haemoproteus manwelli, has been described from India. Green bee-eaters (Merops orientalis ceylonicus) hunt 1.jpg|M. o. ceylonicus pair Green bee-eaters (Merops orientalis ceylonicus) hunt 2.jpg|spotting prey Green bee-eaters (Merops orientalis ceylonicus) hunt 3.jpg|flying off to catch prey Green bee-eater (Merops orientalis ceylonicus) with bee.jpg|with a bee File:Green bee-eater (Merops orientalis) with blue pansy composite.jpg|M. o. orientalis eating a blue pansy butterfly == References ==