“This pair of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters (Merops philippinus philippinus) was hawking for insects from this branch. It was interesting to note the behaviour of the Blue-tailed Bee-eater on the right. As the partner/friend flew in with a catch, it began to “wag the tail” and get all fluffed up in anticipation. It then continued the ”wagging” and seemed to “beg” for a bite/to eat the prey. Only when it was sure that it was not going to be fed did it return to usual behaviour.
“Not sure if this is a juvenile who has recently become an adult or just a mate expecting a feed.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ex-mining pools around Gua Tempurung
Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia
29th December 2009
Note: Maybe the bird on the right is a female expecting to be fed in courtship? And maybe the priority of male was more to eat than to mate?
2 Responses
CE Webster
Nice pictures. Thanks for posting.
Your Bird Feeder
Cuifen
Interesting observation! Thanks for sharing!
– Beginner Birder 🙂