About the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
The blue-cheeked bee-eater is a species of bee-eater that breeds in Northern Africa and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations are resident year-round in the Sahel. This species occurs as a rare vagrant north of its breeding range, with most vagrants occurring in Italy and Greece.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has blue sides with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the beak is black. It can reach a length of 31 cm (12 in), with the two elongated central tail feathers adding another 7 cm (2.8 in). Sexes are mostly alike but the tail-streamers of the female are shorter. This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical semi-desert with a few trees, such as acacia. It winters in open woodland or grassland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Finland, Norway, Portugal, France, Netherlands, China, Austria, Italy, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Mayotte, Germany.
When to see it
Peak activity in September · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Arabian Green Bee-eaterMerops cyanophrysIt is 16–18 centimetres (6.3–7.1 in) long excluding the elongated central tail feathers, which are an additional 2 cm (0.8 in) long.
White-fronted Bee-eaterMerops bullockoidesThis species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird, but with a distinctive black mask, white forehead, square tail and a bright red throat.
Blue-throated Bee-eaterMerops viridisAdult blue-throated bee-eaters are around 21 cm long, excluding the elongated central tail feathers, which are an additional 9 cm, and a weight of around 34–41 grams.
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