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Merops (genus)
Encyclopedia
Merops is a large genus
of bee-eater
s, a group of near passerine
bird
s in the family
Meropidae. The members of this Old World family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insect
s, especially bee
s, wasp
s and hornet
s, which are caught in the air.
All bee-eaters are in the genus Merops and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asia
tic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae.
The species in Merops are:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s, a group of near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Meropidae. The members of this Old World family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, especially bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s, wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s and hornet
Hornet
Hornets are the largest eusocial wasps; some species can reach up to in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex , which is proportionally larger in Vespa and by the anteriorly rounded gasters .- Life cycle :In...
s, which are caught in the air.
All bee-eaters are in the genus Merops and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
tic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae.
The species in Merops are:
- Little Bee-eaterLittle Bee-eaterThe 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. It should not be confused with the Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall...
, Merops pusillus - Blue-cheeked Bee-eaterBlue-cheeked Bee-eaterThe Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed...
, Merops persicus - Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis
- White-throated Bee-eaterWhite-throated Bee-eaterThe White-throated Bee-eater, Merops albicollis is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara, Africa...
, Merops albicollis - Swallow-tailed Bee-eaterSwallow-tailed Bee-eaterThe Swallow-tailed Bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in savannah woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. It is partially migratory, moving in response to rainfall patterns....
, Merops hirundinaeus - Blue-tailed Bee-eaterBlue-tailed Bee-eaterThe Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Merops philippinus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southeastern Asia. It is strongly migratory, seen seasonally in much of peninsular India....
, Merops phillipinus - Black Bee-eaterBlack Bee-eaterThe Black Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.-Description:Black with scarlet chin and throat, streaked breast, pale blue eyebrow, belly, undertail-coverts and rump, rufous primaries.-Distribution:...
, Merops gularis - Blue-headed Bee-eaterBlue-headed Bee-eaterThe blue-headed bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.The blue-headed...
, Merops muelleri - Red-throated Bee-eaterRed-throated Bee-eaterThe Red-throated Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.This species has a large range, and is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania,...
, Merops bullocki - White-fronted Bee-eaterWhite-fronted Bee-eaterThe White-fronted Bee-eater, Merops bullockoides, is a species of bee-eater widely distributed in sub-equatorial Africa.They have a distinctive white forehead, a square tail and a bright red patch on their throat...
, Merops bullockoides - Blue-breasted Bee-eaterBlue-breasted Bee-eaterThe Blue-breasted Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and...
, Merops variegatus - Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaterCinnamon-chested Bee-eaterThe cinnamon-chested bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda....
, Merops oreobates - Black-headed Bee-eaterBlack-headed Bee-eaterThe Black-headed Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sudan....
, Merops breweri - Somali Bee-eaterSomali Bee-eaterThe somali bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Tanzania....
, Merops revoilii - Böhm's Bee-eater, Merops boehmi
- Blue-throated Bee-eaterBlue-throated Bee-eaterThe Blue-throated Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam....
, Merops viridis - Olive Bee-eater, Merops superciliosus
- Rainbow Bee-eaterRainbow Bee-eaterThe Rainbow Bee-eater, Merops ornatus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia.-Description:...
, Merops ornatus - European Bee-eaterEuropean Bee-eaterThe European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka...
, Merops apiaster - Chestnut-headed Bee-eaterChestnut-headed Bee-eaterThe Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Merops leschenaulti is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is a resident breeder in southern Asia from India east to southeast Asia and Indonesia....
, Merops leschenaulti - Rosy Bee-eaterRosy Bee-eaterThe Rosy Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo....
, Merops malimbicus - Northern Carmine Bee-eaterNorthern Carmine Bee-eaterThe Northern Carmine Bee-eater Merops nubicus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. Alternative common names include the Carmine Bee-eater or the Nubian Bee-eater.-Distribution:...
, Merops nubicus - Southern Carmine Bee-eaterSouthern Carmine Bee-eaterThe Southern Carmine Bee-eater occurs across sub-equatorial Africa, ranging from KwaZulu-Natal and Namibia to Gabon, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya....
, Merops nubicoides