Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Merops philippinus
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. The three outer toes are united around their bases. It is around 29 cm long excluding the elongated central tail feathers, which are an additional 7 cm long, and a weight of around 29–43 grams. Sexes are alike. The juveniles are drabber, and lack the elongated central tail feathers.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
Merops leschenaulti
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
Where you might meet both
Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App
Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.