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European bee-eater

European bee-eater

A bird that eats bees

This time, we're writing about a bird, not a person. The bee-eater is also a bird, named after its diet—it feeds on wild bees. This migratory bird is one of the most beautiful birds in Slovenia.

Source: Pixabay

European bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

Size
  • 27 - 29 cm, wingspan 44 - 49 cm   

Weight
  • up to 60 g   

Diet
  • Wild bees and larger insects   

Habitat
  • Rare, nests in the sandstone cliffs of Bizeljsko, along the Mura River, in Gorška region...
 

 
Kingdom
  • Animalia
Phylum
  • Chordata
Class
  • Aves
Order
  • Coraciiformes
Family
  • Meropidae
Genus
  • Merpos
Species
  • Merops apiaster

The bee-eater is one of our most beautifully coloured birds. This migratory bird returns to our area in June, usually choosing a high clay cliff for nesting. It is very rare here.


The bee-eater is adorned with magnificent and exotically coloured feathers. A slender bird, it has a long, curved beak and slightly elongated central tail feathers.

The colourful birds return to Slovenia from their African wintering grounds in late April and early May. They usually choose a high clay or sandy-clay wall for nesting, where they dig a nesting tunnel with a fairly rectangular-shaped entrance opening. They often return to old nesting tunnels. They start hatching in June and usually lay up to 7 eggs.

The birds nest in sandy cliffs in Bizeljsko, along the Mura River, in the Goriška region, in the Ravno sandpit in the Krakovski forest, and in the sandy dunes of gravel pits in Vrbina near Brežice.

 

They are excellent fliers and hunt larger flying insects, especially dragonflies, bumblebees and bees.

They are best seen during the feeding season, when both parents bring food in their beaks and the young are sometimes waiting at the entrance.

DID YOU KNOW?

  1. For many years, Bizeljsko was the only area in Slovenia where the European bee-eater could be found. According to locals, it has been nesting there since 1984. A colony of bee-eaters has been nesting for many years in the quartz sandpit at Župjek in Bizeljsko. An observation post has been set up nearby.