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To the Beauty of Birds

The Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa.
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly colored, slender bird. It has green upper parts, yellow throat, black gorget, and rich brown upper breast fading to buffish ocre on the belly. The wings are green and brown, and the beak is black. It has a short narrow blue stripe just over the black eye stripe. It reaches a length of 15–17 cm, which makes it the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep."

This is an abundant and tame bird, familiar throughout its range. There have been estimated to be between 60-80 million Little Bee-eaters. It breeds in open country with bushes, preferably near water. This species often hunts from low perches, maybe only a meter or less high.

Unlike most bee-eaters, these are solitary nesters, making a tunnel in sandy banks, or sometimes in the entrance to an Aardvark den. They lay 4 to 6 spherical white eggs. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. These birds roost communally, lined up on a tree branch.

Little Bee-eater

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