Bee-eaters (Meropidae)
Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) - HBW 6, p. 331
French: Guêpier à queue d’aronde
German: Schwalbenschwanzspint
Spanish: Abejaruco Golondrina
Taxonomy: Merops hirundineus A. A. H. Lichtenstein, 1793, Oranje River, South Africa.
Has been placed in monotypic genus Dicrocercus on account of its tail shape; this appears, however, to be merely an exaggeration of the incipiently fish-tailed shape shown by M. pusillus, M. variegatus and M. oreobates, to which all other morphological and biological characters indicate present species to be closely allied. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- chrysolaimus Jardine & Selby, 1830 - Senegal E to N Central African Republic.
- heuglini (Neumann, 1906) - NE Zaire, N Uganda, S Sudan and SW Ethiopia.
- furcatus Stanley, 1814 - S Zaire, N Tanzania and SE Kenya S to C Angola and Mozambique.
- hirundineus A. A. H. Lichtenstein, 1793 - S Angola, SW Zambia and W Zimbabwe S to S South Africa (Cape Province).
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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Three birds on a branch, and then one flying away Locality Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia (ssp hirundineus)
Max Roth 30 September 2000 5 years ago 25 sec 3.9 -
A bird flycatching from a bush, once returning with a damselfly Locality Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda (ssp heuglini)
Josep del Hoyo 29 August 2006 4 years ago 38 sec 3.7 -
perching Locality Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda (ssp heuglini)
Daniêl Jimenez 4 October 2010 49 weeks ago 26 sec 3.7 -
A bird killing and eating an insect Locality Fish River Canyon National Park, Karas Region, Namibia (ssp hirundineus)
Keith Blomerley 24 January 2007 4 years ago 27 sec 3.6 -
A bird killing an insect just catched Locality Brufut, Western Division, The Gambia (ssp chrysolaimus)
Eldert Groenewoud 25 October 2005 4 years ago 29 sec 3.5 -
Two birds in a bush Locality Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda (ssp heuglini)
Josep del Hoyo 29 August 2006 4 years ago 46 sec 3.4
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Seen at the Okonjima Africat Foundation.
Locality Otjiwarongo, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia
Glenda Rees 17 July 2009 6 days ago ADDED LAST WEEK 4.5 -
An adult has captured a hymenopterous insect (family Ichneumonidae).
Locality Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Kalahari Gemsbok NP), Northern Cape Province, South Africa (ssp hirundineus)
Carmelo López 2 December 2010 1 year ago 4.1 -
An adult perching on a brach near Sunday's pan
Locality Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Ghanzi District, Botswana
Marco Valentini 19 August 2010 49 weeks ago 3.9 -
A perched adult bird feeding in Guinea savanna woodland.
Locality Brufut, Western Division, The Gambia (ssp chrysolaimus)
Steve Garvie 9 March 2005 1 year ago 3.9 -
A juvenile perched on a fence.
Locality Upington, Northern Cape Province, South Africa (ssp hirundineus)
David Beadle 4 February 2011 5 weeks ago 3.5 -
Swallow-tailed Bee-eater perched on a low branch
Locality Mahango Game Reserve, Caprivi Region, Namibia
Rhonda Hansch 16 September 2007 7 weeks ago 3.5
- No sound recordings available yet
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