GOT International

Basking Bee-eater 

       High up -- a European Bee-eater soaking in the spring morning sun from its an electricity cable perch-- pictures by Assumpta Bosch

                             (Click on picture for an enlargement. Clicking again on the enlargement gives a full-screen blow-up) 

Sunshine and safe haven at last for this new arrival to Catalonia, far from its wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa where members of its species are regarded as pests by bee-keepers who spare no effort in getting rid of them in unspeakable ways.

No such fate awaits them here. For European Bee-eaters (merops apiaster), their summer sojourn in Spain is a much-anticipated event, and GOT members were rewarded for their patience during an early Monday  morning ramble across farmland in the country town of Lliça d’Amunt this week.

With wild flowers in full bloom and heavy with nectar, and bees, wasps and flying insects in abundance, the bee-eaters in the neighbourhood had a field day. As the name suggests, this beautiful creature, one of Europe’s most colourful birds, feeds on bees. But they are far from averse to wasps, flies and all sorts of small flying insects.

   Way down, flanking a country road --raised ground pitted with Bee-eater nesting burrows (left), and closeup of one(right)--Picture: Abul Fazil 
The bee-eater  -- merops is Greek for bee-eater, and apiaster is Latin for the same thing, just to reinforce the bird's piece de resistance – is here not merely to seek the sun, but also to breed. And that brings us to yet another surprising aspect of these remarkable birds – bee-eaters don’t build nests, nor do they nest in trees. Incredible as it may seem, they lay their eggs in burrows in earth banks, sand banks, level ground and cliffs -- burrows which the breeding couple painstakingly dig with beaks and claws over periods of as long as 20 days.  The burrow can be as deep as a metre in length, with the nesting chamber lying at the end of it. A clutch could consist of up to six eggs. The uninitiated country visitor who spots these holes, most of which are about 10cm in diameter, invariably assumes that they were made by small mammals such as moles and field mice. It would never ever occur to them that a bird had dug the hole. Breeding bee-eaters rarely return to their burrows come the following summer for one obvious reason –once abandoned, the holes are taken over by squatters like insects, small animals, bats and snakes which do not take kindly to enforced eviction.

Aerial hunters of prey, the Bee-eater forages for its favourite food from vantage points on trees, telephone wires or electricity cables, making precision forays after a passing bee or wasp, seizing it after a short chase, and bringing it back to the perch to bash its head and remove the sting before swallowing it. Where bees and wasps are scarce, the bee-eaters will pursue any flying morsel including flies, beetles and ants which it catches and eats almost invariably on the wing. When raising their young, bee-eaters have a lot of eating to do – each requires more than 200 bees a day to sustain themselves and their brood.

  Close-up of a Bee-eater taken at a recent ringing session – pictures by Ferran Pascual

There’s no mistaking a bee-eater as it swoops swallow-like above the canopy looking like streaks of stunning yellow, deep blue and bright green. Merops apiaster is a near passerine bird with rainbow-coloured plumage, slender bodies and long tail feathers. It has a bright yellow throat and rump, a chestnut body and head, and iridescent blue-green patches on the wings, tail, and breast. Males sport a black gorget (a band on the throat). Females tend to be less green and less flaxen, but it is difficult to tell the genders apart. Both have bills which are curved, long and end in a sharp point. The tip of the bill is used as a pair of forceps with which to snatch insects on the wing and crush smaller ones.                                                                           ---words: Abul Fazil 
         European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, Abejaruco Europeo, Abellerol, Bienenfresser, Guêpier d'Europe