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Blue-tailed Bee-eater catching insects from a perch

YC Wee
on 8th January 2012

suicidal bugs v champion bee-eater @ Pasir Ris Mangroves from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Andy Dinesh’s video clip of a Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) was documented at Singapore’s Pasir Ris mangroves in late December 2011 LINK. This is a classic study of the bee-eater’s agility in catching insects while perching at the end of a bare branch in a hot afternoon.

According to Andy, “The clip shows a bee-eater being apparently dive-bombed by some bugs. It follows the bugs even to the extent of twisting its neck backwards. Finally, it sees a bug approaching and with a timely hop off its perch, and despite the strong wind swaying the tree that provides the perch, it grabs the bug in its beak with finesse and flies away. (Look at the 25% and 12.5% slo-mo segments).”



Many bee-eaters hunt from a leafy perch, making sorties to catch passing insects. These can include bees, wasps, hornets, dragonflies, beetles, cicadas and alate termite. According to Fry (2001), “Bee-eaters hunt almost entirely on the wing, either by making fly-catching sallies from a bare elevated perch or by feeding in continuous flight.” In the case of this Blue-tailed Bee-eater, its hunting behaviour appears to be different, making only occasional short sallies to catch nearby insects.

Andy Dinesh
Singapore
January 2012

Reference:
Fry, C. H., 2001. Family Meropidae (Bee-eaters). In: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds.), Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 286-341.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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