How big is a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is a small sized bird weighing about 27 g.

Where can you see a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater occurs in 13 countries, including India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Cambodia.

What birds look similar to a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is most easily confused with the White-fronted Bee-eater, the Little Bee-eater and the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

Is the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater endangered?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Merops leschenaulti

Bee-eaters · Coraciiformes · Uncommon

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) is a uncommon bee-eater found in 13 countries, weighing about 27 g. The chestnut-headed bee-eater, or bay-headed bee-eater, is a bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae.

Least ConcernUncommonEats invertebrateswoodlandcavity nest27 g

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 1 — Photo: sunnyjosef · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 2 — Photo: sunnyjosef · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 3 — Photo: sunnyjosef · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 4 — Photo: Oscar Hopgood · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 5 — Photo: engagenosey · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 6 — Photo: Oscar Hopgood · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 7 — Photo: Oscar Hopgood · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 8 — Photo: Srivatsan Ramkumar · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 9 — Photo: Mickey Wu · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), photo 10 — Photo: Mickey Wu · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

The chestnut-headed bee-eater, or bay-headed bee-eater, is a bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds on the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions, ranging from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka across Southeast Asia to Indonesia.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The chestnut-headed bee-eater is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) in overall length and weighs 26–33 g (0.92–1.16 oz). The sexes are similar in appearance. The forehead, crown, nape, mantle and ear-coverts are bright chestnut. The lores are black, continued as a thin band under the eye and ear-coverts. The wing coverts, lower back and tertials are green, the latter are tipped with bluish. The rump and uppertail coverts are pale shining blue. The primaries and secondaries are green, rufous on the inner webs, and all tipped dusky.

Where it lives

India Thailand Sri Lanka Nepal Cambodia Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam Bangladesh Bhutan Myanmar (Burma) China Laos

When to see it

Best months: January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in February. It is a variable species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?: The chestnut-headed bee-eater is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) in overall length and weighs 26–33 g (0.92–1.16 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?: The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is a small sized bird weighing about 27 g.
Where can you see a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?: The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater occurs in 13 countries, including India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Cambodia.
What birds look similar to a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?: The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is most easily confused with the White-fronted Bee-eater, the Little Bee-eater and the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.
Is the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater endangered?: The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater for real

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