“Saw a pair of adult Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis viridis) in the city, one of which had beak damage (below).
“The terminal point of both mandibles is broken off, especially the lower mandible. I have seen this occasionally in bee-eaters and suspect it is a result of nest building activities. In the first stage of nest building, the birds ‘hurl’ or launch themselves at the ground/slope surface to create a depression. This may cause trauma if a hard location is accidentally chosen.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
3rd June 2017
Location: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Urban environment