Bulletin 367 - Uganda #11 - Bee-eaters

After the week in the Capetown area, the guide Casper Badenhorst, and I flew to Uganda and met a local guide. We started at Entebbe Airport on the southeast corner of Uganda and made a diagonal trip to Murchison Falls NP in the northwest corner. From there, we proceeded south through a chain of nature preserves and parks to the southwest corner at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We finished along the southern border back to the airport.

Bee-eaters are some of the most brightly colored African birds.There are 25 species world wide and all but 5 can be found in Africa. They are easy to see and photograph as they sit in the open on a twig looking for a flying insect. The sexes are similar in all these species.

The 6" Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) has green back and wings, yellow throat and breast with a brown chest band

Little Bee-eater

The 8.5" Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater (Merops oreobates) is large and similar but with bright cinnamon underside.

Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater

Another similar species is the 7" Blue-breasted Bee-eater (Merops variegatus). It has a bluish breast stripe.

Blue-breasted Bee-eater

The 11" White-throated Bee-eater (Merops albicollis) has a black and white head pattern and very long tail streamers.

White-throated Bee-eater

The 8.5" Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) has a green body, blue belly and vent and yellow throat.

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

The 12" Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus) is a European species that winters in Africa. It is all green with blue on the face. It has a long tail as well.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

The spectacular 15" Northern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicus) has a red body and green head.

Northern Carmine Bee-eater

The 9" Red-throated Bee-eater (Merops bulocki) is another stunningly beautiful bird.

Red-throated Bee-eater

Finally the most amazing is the 8" Black Bee-eater (Merops gularis). It has a black back and wings, streaked turquoise breast and red throat. This is a bird of the central African forests and is found in Uganda along the border of the Congo

Black Bee-eater

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 11 of the 25 species of bee-eaters

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

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