Bird Album
Blue-moustached Bee-eater
Merops mentalis Cabanis, 1889
22 gWeight
The blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae, a group of brightly colored Palearctic and Afrotropical birds noted for feeding primarily on venomous Hymenoptera such as bees and wasps.
Busiest months: November · Most records: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon
Where and when it's recorded
Blue-moustached Bee-eater has been recorded at 13 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Atewa Range – upland forest & ridgeGhana300 records
- Ankasa NPGhana50 records
- Atewa – farm scrub and degraded forestGhana28 records
More places
- Gola Rainforest NP – NorthSierra Leone11 records
- Korup NP – Rengo Rock Camp AreaCameroon9 records
- Ankasa NP – entrance vicinityGhana8 records
- Taï National ParkCôte d’Ivoire3 records
- Nsuta ForestGhana3 records
- BBPP Research Station – MokaEquatorial Guinea1 record
- Mont TonkouiCôte d’Ivoire1 record
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae, a group of brightly colored Palearctic and Afrotropical birds noted for feeding primarily on venomous Hymenoptera such as bees and wasps. The blue-moustached bee-eater is one of 31 species within this family. It is a small, dark bee-eater measuring about 19 cm in length.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Blue-moustached Bee-eater?
The Blue-moustached Bee-eater weighs around 22 g.
Where does the Blue-moustached Bee-eater live?
Its breeding range: Africa: Sierra Leone to western Cameroon and Bioko Island. It is most often recorded in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cameroon.
When is the best time to see the Blue-moustached Bee-eater?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Blue-moustached Bee-eater endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Blue-moustached Bee-eater as Near Threatened.
What does the Blue-moustached Bee-eater eat?
Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.
What family is the Blue-moustached Bee-eater in?
It belongs to the family Bee-eaters (Meropidae), order Coraciiformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 22 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Insects & other invertebrates
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Near Threatened
More measurements
- Wing
- 85 mm
- Tail
- 80 mm
- Bill
- 36 mm
- Tarsus
- 10 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Africa: Sierra Leone to western Cameroon and Bioko Island
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Bee-eaters Meropidae
- Genus
- Merops
Other birds in the genus Merops
Black-headed Bee-eaterMerops breweri
Blue-headed Bee-eaterMerops muelleri
Black Bee-eaterMerops gularis
Swallow-tailed Bee-eaterMerops hirundineus
Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
Blue-breasted Bee-eaterMerops variegatus
Ethiopian Bee-eaterMerops lafresnayii
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaterMerops oreobates
Red-throated Bee-eaterMerops bulocki
White-fronted Bee-eaterMerops bullockoides
Somali Bee-eaterMerops revoilii
White-throated Bee-eaterMerops albicollis
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Jay Pruett. ↗
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