Bird Guide

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater vs Rainbow Bee-eater

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti)

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
Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)

Rainbow Bee-eater

Merops ornatus

Small30 gWoodland

Rainbow bee-eaters are brilliantly coloured birds that grow to be 23–28 cm (9.1–11.0 in) in length, including the elongated tail feathers, and weighing 20–33 g (0.71–1.16 oz). The upper back and wings are green, and the lower back and under-tail coverts are bright blue. The undersides of the wings and primary flight feathers are rufous to copper with green edges and tipped with black, and the tail is black to deep violet. The rainbow bee-eater's two central tail feathers are longer than the other tail feathers, and are longer in the male rainbow bee-eaters than in the females.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY 3.0

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 Bird

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