European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster
Polokwane Nature Reserve,
Pietersburg,
Limpopo Province,
South Africa
11 January 2006
Photo and observation by Dr. Ravi Rajasingh
Year: 2009
Photo and observation by Sanjeev Kumar S R
An early sighting of the European Bee-eater on its migration for the year.
I'm leaning European bee-eater, although the back is wrong (M. apiaster adult has a yellow/chestnut-colored back). Field guide says that juveniles have a green back, so maybe this is a young one. Thoughts?
The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its range, with occasional breeding in northwest Europe.
