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  Rainbow Bee-eater ( Merops ornatus )



Rainbow Bee-eater | Merops ornatus photo
Rainbow Bee-eater

Photograph by Brett Donald. Some rights reserved.

Rainbow Bee-eater | Merops ornatus photo
Rainbow Bee-eater

Photograph by Julian Robinson. Some rights reserved.




RAINBOW BEE-EATER FACTS

distribution map showing range of Merops ornatus in Australia

Description
The Rainbow Bee-eater is a brightly coloured bird with long curved bill and long tail streamers. Head is golden with black eye stripe and body is mostly green and blue. The bee-eater is a fast flier that flits around after insects.

Size
25cm to tip of tail

Environment
open forests, woodlands and shrublands

Food
catches insects on the wing, mainly bees and wasps, also dragonflies, beetles, butterflies and moths

Breeding
Nests in sandy bank with long tunnel leading to a nesting chamber lined with grasses. Lays 4-8 eggs.

Range
mainland Australia, as well as eastern Indonesia, New Guinea



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Coraciiformes
Family:Meropidae
Genus:Merops
Species:ornatus
Common Name:Rainbow Bee-eater