The Blue-throated Bee-eater (scientific name: Merops viridis) is an attractive, brightly-coloured bird that is a favourite among nature photographers. It was featured on the S$100 notes of the "Bird Series" currency notes released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore between 1976 and 1984. It was also featured on a S$2 stamp in a Singapore currency sheet of four values in 1992.
Description
The Blue-throated Bee-eater is recognisable by its bright blue throat, chestnut head and upper back, black eye stripe and bluish tail feathers. Adults have two very distinctive tail streamers from the central feathers of the tail. Juveniles lack the tail streamers and have a greenish throat colour. This slender bird measures about 30cm in length, including the tail. In flight, its wings form a distinctive triangular shape. Its flight is jerky and undulating, with a few short wingbeats followed by a long glide. Its call is a clear "berek berek" uttered in flight.
Reproduction
The nests of Blue-throated Bee-eaters, as with other members of the bee-eater family, are typically burrows reaching up to 1.5m long on sandbanks or soft earth near water bodies. Nesting colonies of about half a dozen birds have been observed. They breed between April and July, and lay 3-5 glossy white and round eggs. In Singapore, breeding has been recorded at St John's Island, Pulau Ubin, Pulau Ketam, Seletar and the former island of Terembu Retan Laut, now part of Pasir Panjang.
Diet
Bee-eaters are primarily insectivorous, feeding on a variety of insects, including bees, ants, moths and dragonflies. They are known to look out for insects from a vantage point such as a telephone pole wire, swooping down and catching the prey on their wing and then returning to the same spot. Smaller insects are caught on the wing and swallowed immediately. However, larger prey are taken back to the perch and hit against it until they are stunned before being consumed. Large flocks congregate ahead of rain to feed on insects that become disturbed by the shifting air currents.
Distribution and Habitat
The bee-eater family comprises 24 species that occur over the continents of Africa, Asia and Australia, with four species found in Southeast Asia. The Blue-throated Bee-eater is distributed in southern China and most of Southeast Asia. It can be found in open areas where there are tall trees, power cables and telephone poles from which it can hunt for insects. In Singapore, it is one of two species of bee-eaters, with the Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) being a common winter visitor.
Variant Names
English: Common Indian Bee-eater
Malay: Berek Berek
Author
Eunice Low
References
Ali, S. (1996). The book of Indian birds. Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society.
(Call no.: R 598.2954 ALI)
Chasen, E. N. (1935). A hand-list of Malaysian birds. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum Singapore, Straits Settlements, 11, vii-389.
(Call no.: RCLOS 571.09595 RMSB)
Fry, C. H. (c1992). Kingfishers, bee-eaters & rollers: A handbook. London: Christopher Helm.
(Call no.: R 598.892 FRY)
Glenister, A. G. (1971). The birds of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Penang. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 598.29595 GLE)
King, B. F. (1975). Birds of South-east Asia: Covering Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Hong Kong. London: Collins.
(Call no.: RSEA 598.2989 KIN)
Madoc, G. C. [1947]. An introduction to Malayan birds. [Kuala Lumpur: Malayan Nature].
(Call no.: RCLOS 598.29595 MAD -[GBH])
Spittle, R. J. (1950). Nesting habits of some Singapore birds. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum Singapore, Straits Settlements, 21, 184-204.
(Call no.: RCLOS 571.09595 RMSB)
Tweedie, M. W. F. [1970]. Common birds of the Malay Peninsula. Kuala Lumpur: Longman Malaysia.
(Call no.: RSEA 598.29595 TWE)
Wells, D. R. (c1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Covering Burma and Thailand south of the eleventh parallel, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore: Vol. 1, Non-passerines. San Diego, California: Academic Press.
(Call no.: RSING 598.0959 WEL)
The information in this article is valid as at 2006 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
