“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?
CE Webster
Nice pictures. Thanks for posting.
Your Bird Feeder
Cuifen
Interesting observation! Thanks for sharing!
– Beginner Birder 🙂