White-fronted Bee-eater (Birds)

ORDER

Coraciiformes

FAMILY

Meropidae

GENUS & SPECIES

Merops bullockoides
White-fronted Bee-eater

key features

• Beautiful bird with a social life that is similar to humans’
• Family groups live together, help each other with domestic chores and visit friendly neighbors
• Several families form a clan and cooperate to protect their hunting territory
• Plucks bees out of the air and removes the sting before eating

where in the world?

Found in central and southern Africa — from Gabon and Angola in the west to Kenya in the east and south to eastern areas of South Africa
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LIFECYCLE

Sociable but quarrelsome, the white-fronted bee-eater lives in crowded communities (clans). It spends much time assisting neighbors or squabbling with rival clans.

HABITAT

The bee-eater needs high perches to scout for insects, open country to hunt them and sheer; sandy riverbanks to nest in. It finds all of these in savannah where there are scattered trees, rivers, dry water courses and gullys.
It can also be found along the edges of woodland, sometimes foraging as much as four miles from the nesting colony.
High-rise housing Over the years, favorite breeding sites become riddled with nest tunnels.
 High-rise housing Over the years, favorite breeding sites become riddled with nest tunnels.View to a kill Bee-eaters use a communal feeding ground and guard the area from high perches.
View to a kill Bee-eaters use a communal feeding ground and guard the area from high perches.
Bee-eaters pair for life, but the male may try to mate with a stray female while jealously guarding his partner from other males.
Pellets of insect remains, regurgitated in the nest by the parents, form a soft base for the eggs and chicks.
The female occasionally lays her eggs in a neighbor’s nest if it is left unguarded. Likewise, a parasitic bird, the greater honey guide, lays its eggs in the nest of a bee-eater. In both cases, the nest’s rightful occupant then incubates and rears the “impostor” chicks.

BEHAVIOR

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BREEDING

The white-fronted bee-eater prepares for parenthood several months before it actually mates. At the end of the rainy season, when the ground is still soft, the bird digs a new nesting tunnel— usually about 3′ long—in a sandy riverbank.The nest is then abandoned until the breeding season begins.
The male courts his mate with gifts of food, presenting large insects bill-to-bill. She is also offered morsels by “helpers”: usually her own male offspring from the previous brood.
Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid.This means that the first-hatched chick will be up to four days older than the youngest. In a season when food is in short supply, this head start gives the eldest chick the best chance of survival.

CASTLE IN THE SAND

Shifting sand
Shifting sand…
Clinging to a riverbank and closing its eyes to keep out flying sand, the bee-eater uses it stabbing beak to begin digging.
Digging dirt
Digging dirt…
The bird scrabbles with its feet in a bicycling motion to scoop out loose earth—sometimes showering a family member waiting to help.
Teamwork is a way of life for the bee-eater. The family unit is the basis of a two-tier system of cooperative society. The unit comprises a breeding pair and one or two helpers (usually offspring that have remained with their parents from the previous year). All domestic tasks, from digging nest tunnels to incubating eggs and feeding chicks, are shared by the mated pair and their helpers. They also roost together, either in their nest or closely huddled on a tree branch.
Family units link up with one to five other groups to form the second tier of team working — the clan. Clan members pay social visits to each other’s nests and each clan flies together to and from its feeding grounds, which it defends against rival clans nesting in the vicinity.
Your turn next Clan members commute to and from their feeding grounds together.
Your turn next Clan members commute to and from their feeding grounds together. No egg rolls
No egg rolls…
To prevent eggs from rolling out of the hole, the bird-eater switches from uphill to downhill excavation near the end of the tunnel.
Sitting it out
Sitting it out
Members of the family take turns helping the breeding pair excavate the tunnel and also assist in incubating the eggs.

FOOD & HUNTING

A Balanced diet The bee-eater takes moths as readily as it does bees.
A Balanced diet
The bee-eater takes moths as readily as it does bees.
As its name suggests, the bee-eater’s favorite food is bees. Many other insects are taken, including wasps, grasshoppers, moths and dragonflies.
The bee-eater catches all its prey in flight. A special technique makes bees and wasps safe to eat. Holding the insect in the tip of its bill, it rubs the bee’s tail-end against a branch, causing venom to be discharged or the sting to fall off.It’s an acquired skill; young bee-eaters are stung during their first attempts. The birds have a degree of immunity, however, and live to try again.
A Plucked from thin air The long beak snaps up prey with a lightning strike.
A Plucked from thin air The long beak snaps up prey with a lightning strike.

CONSERVATION

There appears to be no threat to survival of white-fronted bee-eaters — or any bee-eater species, most of which have large and thriving populations. Bee-eaters are sometimes persecuted by beekeepers, but their predation of domestic bees is probably balanced by the fact they also kill many of the other insects that also prey upon the bees.

Profile

White-fronted Bee-eater

The white-fronted bee-eater is graceful in its aerial pursuit of insects and robust enough to dig deep into a riverbank to make its nest.
White-fronted Bee-eater

CREATURE COMPARISONS!

Several bee-eater species, including the migratory blue-cheeked bee-eater, have sharply pointed wings and long tail streamers.The larger lilac-breasted roller is more distantly related to the bee-eaters and eats grasshoppers and lizards.The African malachite sunbird, although shaped like a bee-eater, is unrelated and feeds on nectar.
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vital statistics
Weight 1-1.5 oz.
Length 8.5-9.5″
Wingspan 12-14″
Sexual Maturity 1 year
Breeding Season Year-round near equator; August-November Ml elsewhere
Number of Eggs Usually 3 or 4
Incubation Period 19-21 days
Fledging Period About 28 days
Typical Diet Bees, wasps and other flying insects
Lifespan Avg. 5-6 years, but may live to 12 years

Related species

• All 24 bee-eater species are colorful birds. Of the 18 species found in Africa, 14 live there and nowhere else, including the little bee-eater, Merops pusillus (below). Five other species are found in parts of Eurasia, and a single species lives in Australia.
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