The golden bee-eater is a magical creature whose existence divides humans into two camps. People with bee phobia adore her because this bird likes to eat bees, wasps. Beekeepers hate them and call them bee-eaters. Their judgments were all correct.
She also eats bumblebees!
When I see a golden bee-eater, it's hard to believe that such a luxurious bird lives in dreary Central Asia. But I was wrong: the Bee-Eater felt good not just across Europe, but also in Western Asia. In addition to the resident southern African population, this species is strongly migratory and overwinters in tropical Africa. The species occurs in spring overshoots north of its usual range and occasionally breeds in northern Europe.
They have managed to populate South Africa.
Like other bee-eaters, this species is a colorful bird. Of course, the bright colors will attract the attention of other predators, but the bee-eater itself doesn't really care. Her strength lies not in her ability to blend in with tree branches, but in her excellent flying skills. Bee-eaters glide in air currents no worse than Swifts, and they also feel unsafe on solid ground.
You are on the wrong plane!
Like other birds, bee-eaters hunt in flight. Only her prey is not butterflies and mosquitoes, but beetles, dragonflies, bees and wasps. They are serious insect fighters (for their weight), so even a 20cm long bird of prey can be a bit dangerous. But if they knock the insects on the tree a few times, they no longer pose a danger.
Even a lightly hunted bee is still a nutritious dinner. The diet of a bee-eater living near a hive consists of 60%-80% bees. Bee-eaters' greediness makes them even more intensely colored: on average, adult birds require up to 250 insects per day! Why are there so many ? The bird's stomach doesn't know how to digest chitin , so it is squeezed into pellets and then regurgitated.
Beekeepers fight birds by blocking nest entrances.
Despite their special eating habits, eating hummingbirds won't wipe out even 1% of the bees. copes better with hunger, frost and insecticides. And those birds that live far away from humans may not eat bees at all.
We sit, we don't eat bees.
took a bite and burped, and the bee-eater went home. Bee-eaters colonize the walls of ravines, hills and river banks. There, in a deep cave, predators can relax and rest. If she wouldn't be disturbed at home.
Thanks for the treat dear
A normal bee-eater family consists of a mother, father and 5-6 hungry and noisy chicks. Fortunately, this love lasted no more than 2 months. By mid-summer, the birds begin to take off, leaving their parents. The new generation spends the winter in Africa before having children next spring.
My rating for the Golden Bee-Eater is 8 out of 10 insects were caught in flight. They don't do much damage to the hive, which lowers the rating slightly. But beating prey into a tree is very cruel!
