No.103 · Birds · Rare visitor
European bee-eater
Merops apiaster
A gold, turquoise and chestnut bird with a long bill that catches bees and dragonflies in the air. Small parties overshoot from southern Europe in late May and June.
When to look
May to July, mostly at day.
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Time of day
- Dawn
- Day
- Dusk
- Night
- Best time
- Late May to July. Calm, warm, sunny days, when insects are flying high.
- Where in the game
- the New Forest (heath and lawn) and the Norfolk Broads (grazing marsh and dunes)
- Size
- 27–29 cm long including the two elongated central tail feathers
- Weight
- 44–78 g; BTO's average is 60.5 g
- Population
- 133 individuals in Britain in 2021 and 130 in 2022 (national records). Only four years this century had over 100 birds
- Status
- Rare visitor; very rare breeder in Britain
Diet
Flying insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets. It beats the insect on a hard perch to remove the sting before swallowing
Habitat
Open, warm country with perches. Breeds in sandy banks and quarry faces. In Britain, migrants use wires, fences and dead branches over heath and marsh
Breeding
Nests colonially in tunnels dug into sandy banks. 4–9 eggs (usually 6–7), incubated for about 20 days by both adults. Two pairs nested in a north Norfolk quarry in 2022, fledging young
Field signs
- A liquid, rolling 'prruip' call from high overhead
- A bird sitting upright on a wire, then flicking out to catch an insect and returning to the same perch
- Gold-and-chestnut back and turquoise underparts in a gliding, swallow-like flight
Did you know?
- A bee-eater eats about 250 bees a day, but that is less than 1% of the workers in its home area.
- In 2022 bee-eaters bred in a Norfolk quarry, and in 2023 they returned to the same site, the first time the same UK breeding site was used in consecutive years.
- The record British flock this century is 17, at Pixey Green.
Moments worth waiting for
- Beating the sting
The bee-eater snaps up a bee, then beats it against the perch again and again before swallowing.
Photo tip
Find the perch it keeps returning to and set up a long lens on a beanbag from a respectful distance. Wait for a full-plumage moment against blue sky and shoot the catch. Overcast days are best for even colour.
Be a good naturalist
Schedule 1 protects it, and any nesting attempt is legally protected from disturbance. Give nest burrows a wide berth, keep to viewing points and never stand under a perch, which forces it away from its feeding post.
The law
Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: it is an offence to disturb one