View source for Swallow-tailed bee-eater

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundineus hirundineus).jpg
| image_caption = ''M. hirundineus hirundineus''<br />[[Tswalu Kalahari Reserve]], South Africa
| image2 = Swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundineus chrysolaimus).jpg
| image2_caption = ''M. hirundineus chrysolaimus''<br />Senegal
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Merops hirundineus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22683702A92996665 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683702A92996665.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Merops hirundineus
| authority = [[Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein, AAH]], 1793
| synonyms = * ''Dicrocercus hirundineus''
}}

[[File:Swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundineus hirundineus) juvenile.jpg|thumb|Juvenile ''M. h. hirundineus'', Namibia]]
[[File:Mhirundineuschrysolaimus112021.jpg|thumb|''M. hirundineus chrysolaimus in [[The Gambia]]'']]

The '''swallow-tailed bee-eater''' ('''''Merops hirundineus''''') is a [[species]] of [[bee-eater]] native to [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. It feeds predominantly on [[insect]]s, especially [[bee]]s and their relatives, which are caught in flight from an open perch. Its vivid colors and forked tail are distinctive.

==Description==
Like other bee-eaters, this is a richly coloured, slender bird. Its colours and readily visible forked tail make it unmistakable. It is mainly green with a yellow throat, blue gorget and black eye stripe and beak. Swallow-tailed bee-eaters can reach a length of 20&ndash;22&nbsp;cm, including the long forked green or blue feathers. Sexes are alike.<ref name=HBWA>{{cite journal |title=Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (''Merops hirundineus'') |author=Fry, H.; Boesman, P.F.D.  |editor1-first=Josep |editor1-last=Del Hoyo |editor2-first=Andrew |editor2-last=Elliott |editor3-first=Jordi |editor3-last=Sargatal |editor4-first=David |editor4-last=Christie |editor5-first=Eduardo |editor5-last=De Juana |year=2020 |journal=Birds of the World |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |doi=10.2173/bow.stbeat1.01 |s2cid=216191523 }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
It breeds in savannah woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. It is partially [[bird migration|migratory]], moving in response to rainfall patterns. This is a species which prefers somewhat more wooded country than most bee-eaters.

==Behaviour==
This attractive bird is readily approached. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat  [[insect]]s, especially [[bee]]s, [[wasp]]s and  [[hornet]]s, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch.  The swallowtail has a preference for honeybees.<ref name=HBWA/>

These bee-eaters nest as pairs or in very small [[Bird colony|colonies]] in sandy banks, or similar flat ground. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 2 to 4 spherical, white eggs are laid. They also feed and roost communally.<ref name=HBWA/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Merops hirundineus}}
* Swallow-tailed bee-eater - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/445.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].
*[https://thebdi.org/2024/10/18/swallow-tailed-bee-eater-merops-hirundineus/ Swallow-tailed bee-eater] Structured guide to the species in southern Africa

{{Bee-eaters}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q576802}}

[[Category:Meropidae|swallow-tailed bee-eater]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1793|swallow-tailed bee-eater]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein|swallow-tailed bee-eater]]