The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is a typically colorful member of the small Meropidae family. It lives throughout southern Asia from India eastward. It can also be found in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
They tend to live in groups and eat primarily insects which they snag in a short flight from a perch.
Classification:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
Species: M. leschenaulti
Photos:
จาบคาหัวสีส้ม Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
"Kamphaengsaen, Nakhonpathom, Thailand."
Photo courtesy of somchai@2008
chestnut headed bee eater
"Like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, with blue on the rump and lower belly. Its face and throat are yellow with a black eye stripe, and the crown and nape are rich chestnut. The thin curved bill is black. Sexes are alike, but young birds are duller. Forehead, crown, nape, upper back and ear-coverts bright chestnut ; lores black, continued as a band under the eye and ear-coverts ; wing-coverts, lower back and tertiaries green, the latter tipped with bluish; rump and upper tail-coverts pale shining blue; primaries and secondaries green, rufous on the inner webs, and all tipped dusky ; central tail-feathers bluish on the outer, and green on the inner webs ; the others green, margined on the inner web with brown and all tipped dusky ; sides of face, chin and throat yellow ; below this a broad band of chestnut extending to the sides of the neck and meeting the chestnut of the upper plumage ; below this again a short distinct band of black and then an ill-defined band of yellow ; remainder of lower plumage green, tipped with blue, especially on the vent and under tail-coverts."
Photo courtesy of Naseer Ommer
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Merops leschenaulti
Photo courtesy of Jayanth Sharma
Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater - Merops leschenaulti
Langkawi, Malaysia.
Photo courtesy of António A Gonçalves
TrekNature | Chestnut Headed Bee Eater Juvenile Photo
This photo from the TrekNature travel gallery is titled ‘Chestnut Headed Bee Eater Juvenile Photo’. Read more…
Video:
Commentary:
deponti to the world - The Birds of Valparai
and this CHESTNUT-HEADED BEE-EATER: 100109 chestnut-headed bee-eater merops leschenaulti puthuthottam valparai. The Puthuthottam area, just outside Valparai town, also gave us great sig… Read more…
A chestnut-headed bee eater sits in the usual bee eater hangout tree. Photobucket. I saw a whole bunch of coppersmith barbets! Now I know they like to gather at VC Rock When taking this batch o… Read more…
chestnut headed bee-eater (probably my favorite) Black drongo Vinous-breasted starling striped throated bulbul black crested bulbul ratchet tailed treepie black naped oriole black winged cucko… Read more…
Birding at Kithulgala forests – A memorable experience
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaultia) Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis) Brown-headed Barbet (Megalaima zeylanica) Sri Lanka Yellow-fronted Barbet (Megalaima flavifrons) … Read more…
andamans: 20th dec 2007 to 6th jan 2008
day 11: we began with birding around the hotel, where we had the hill mynas, the indian dollar bird, the chestnut headed bee-eater, pied triller, glossy stare & the burmese turtle dove to name … Read more…
rhinos and crocs and sloth bears, oh my!
the rest of the walk was uneventful, but raj proved to know his birds extremely well, helping me locate brown crake, little heron, white-browed wagtail, black-breasted weaver, chestnut-headed bee-e… Read more…
Birding highlights: Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (lots), Yellow-browed Bulbul, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Indian Swiftlet, Pied Kingfisher, Sri Lanka … Read more…
Dandeli - Birding into the new year « …those magnificent flying …
… Black Capped Kingfisher*; Chestnut Headed Bee-eater; Lesser Fish Eagle; Crested Serpent Eagle; Green Imperial Pigeon*; Gold Fronted Leafbird; Red Whiskered Bulbul; Yellow Browed Bulb… Read more…
