Bird Guide

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater vs White-fronted Bee-eater

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus)

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
White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)

White-fronted Bee-eater

Merops bullockoides

Small35 gWoodland

This 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. The size is 23 cm (9 in.). The upperparts are green, with cinnamon underparts. The call is a deep squeak.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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