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European Bee-eater | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

European Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

AvesOpen warm country with sandy banks, river cliffs and scattered perchesLeast Concern

Field profile

The European bee-eater is a slender, brilliantly coloured aerial insectivore that hawks bees, wasps and dragonflies from a perch. It breeds colonially in tunnels dug into sand banks. Vivid chestnut, yellow and turquoise plumage makes it unmistakable in flight.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-04-25

European Bee-eater

Bee-eaters rub the sting out of their prey

Before swallowing a bee or wasp, a European bee-eater strikes it against a perch and then rubs the abdomen along the branch, expelling most of the venom. Only stinging insects receive this treatment; harmless prey is swallowed directly.

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