Ethiopian bee-eater

The feathers on the back of a typical Ethiopian bee-eater are green, with a russet undercarriage, a yellow throat, and a dark blue band around their crown, eyes, and across their breast. In flight, a black stripe and additional russet feathers can be viewed beneath their back and along the underside of their wings. From above, the Ethiopian bee-eater’s wing feathers appear tawny near the inside and azure blue moving closer to the outside, with a black stripe along the back of their wings.[3]

Ethiopian bee-eaters are an insectivorous species, and their diet largely consists of flying bugs such as butterflies, dragonflies, moths, large beetles, and bees. Ethiopian bee-eaters primarily utilize two hunting methods. They either dart swiftly between the shrubs and low branches of trees to seize insects, or descend at a slow, even pace from their roost, hovering in the air momentarily before snatching their prey.[5] After ensnaring their impending meal, they return to their perch, secure the prey at the forefront of their beaks, and repeatedly strike their heads against a branch to ensure its demise before consumption.[6]

Ethiopian bee-eaters behave much like other species in the Meropidae family in that they are both gregarious and diurnal birds. They are often observed gathering into large flocks, establishing territories roughly 2 kilometers from their flock’s designated feeding sites during mating season. In these areas of brooding and nesting, bee-eaters use the safety of these locations to socialize with other nests and preen, exposing their feathers to sunlight and using dust baths to prevent ectoparasitic infestations.[6]

Ethiopian bee-eaters form their nests by digging horizontal tunnels in vertical walls, with an elliptical enclosure at the end for them to store their clutch.[6] They lay a single clutch each year, which usually consists of 5 eggs.