All the members of the family Meropidae are bee eaters. They contain 3 genera and 27 species. Bee eaters predominantly eat flying insects, specially bees and wasps. Before eating the stinging insect for example a bee, once caught, the bee eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface.
There are 6 bee eater species in southeast asia and in Malaysia 4 species have been found:
The red bearded bee eater ( Nyctyornis amictus )
Blue throated bee eater
( Merops virids )
Blue tailed bee eater
( Merpos philippinus )
Chestnut headed bee eater
( Merops leschenaulti )
The 3 last bee eaters are from the family Meropidae. They all have colorful plumage. On very rare occasions they have been seen to eat lizards and fish small enough for their size. But depend on bees mostly and other flying insects. They catch the insect when they are flying by the wings.
Chestnut headed bee eater:
Scientific name : Merops leschenaulti
Family: Meropidae
Authority: Vieillot, 1817
22cm long, this is a bird of the open country but seen only in the northern peninsula during the northern winter months. In Malaysia these birds are the smallest among the 3 bee eaters present. The crown of these species is dull chestnut border at the lower edge of throat.
The habitats of the bird starts from the north eastern part of India, down to the Indian continent to Sri Langka, Andaman Islands to Sumatra, Java and Bali.
In Malaysia the chestnut headed bee eater is seldom seen and only confined to places in the northern peninsula, like Penang and Perak.