Blue-throated Bee-eater

Merops viridis Linnaeus, 1758

≈22 cmLength35 gWeight

It has a reddish-brown crown, a blue throat, and a green body, with elongated central tail feathers in the adult.

Busiest months: March, July–August and October · Most records: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Throat blue
Crown and nape reddish-brown
Wings dark green; breast and belly pale green
Adult: central tail feathers particularly long

Male, female and young

Juvenile is mostly green overall, with dark green head and wings, and lacks the adult’s elongated central tail feathers.

Voice

Varied calls include long calls, alarm calls, short chirps, gurgles, and trills.

Where and when it's recorded

Blue-throated Bee-eater has been recorded at 370 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 9 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Sepilok – Rainforest Discovery CenterMalaysia1,911 records
Singapore Botanic GardensSingapore1,677 records
Kranji MarshSingapore1,011 records

More places

Dairy Farm Nature ParkSingapore760 records
Danum Valley Borneo Rainforest LodgeMalaysia755 records
Jurong Lake GardensSingapore692 records
Sungei Buloh Wetland ReserveSingapore638 records
Kinabatangan River – SukauMalaysia633 records
Central Catchment Nature ReserveSingapore609 records
Gunung Panti Recreational Forest – Panti Bird Sanctuary and North AreaMalaysia584 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Singapore Malaysia Thailand China Indonesia Cambodia Vietnam Brunei

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-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis) is a species of bird in the bee-eater family. It is found in much of southeast Asia, in subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Their diet consists mostly of bees, wasps, and dragonflies.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Blue-throated Bee-eater?

The Blue-throated Bee-eater is about ≈22 cm long and weighs around 35 g.

Where does the Blue-throated Bee-eater live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: southern China to Sumatra, Nias (west of northern Sumatra), Riau Islands (east of central Sumatra), Bangka and Belitung (east of southern Sumatra), Java, northern Natuna Islands (northwest of Borneo) and Borneo. It is most often recorded in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

When is the best time to see the Blue-throated Bee-eater?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in March, July, August and October (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Blue-throated Bee-eater endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Blue-throated Bee-eater as Least Concern.

What does the Blue-throated Bee-eater eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Blue-throated Bee-eater in?

It belongs to the family Bee-eaters (Meropidae), order Coraciiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈22 cm
Weight: 35 g
Habitat: Woodland
Diet: Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle: Perches in trees
Migration: Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 112 mm
Tail: 76 mm
Bill: 35 mm
Tarsus: 10 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: southern China to Sumatra, Nias (west of northern Sumatra), Riau Islands (east of central Sumatra), Bangka and Belitung (east of southern Sumatra), Java, northern Natuna Islands (northwest of Borneo) and Borneo

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2