Blue-cheeked Bee-eater vs Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Merops persicus

Small49 gDesert

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Koshy Koshy · CC BY 2.0

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Merops leschenaulti

Small27 gWoodland

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Rohitjahnavi · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.