This week we’re going to talk about one of Australia’s most beautiful birds, the Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus).
These guys are dropped dead gorgeous, with their multicoloured feathers and little tail-streamers. As the name suggests, Bee-eaters do indeed eat bees. Most birds don’t go after bees, because they are A) hard to catch and B) have a tendency to string things. Bee-eater don’t care. Not only are they immune to bee stings, but they also take the added precaution of rubbing the stinger off on a branch before they eat them.
In a surprise twist, Bee-eaters are also borrowing birds. They make their nests underground. The females do the excavation, while the males keep watch and bring food. They deliberately make their borrows tight and snug, so tight that when they enter and exist their bodies press up against the side of the tunnel and act like a piston, forcing out old stale air and letting fresh air in.
For my fellow Canberrans, I’ve got some good news, Bee-eaters are one of our local birds and there are a couple of places along the Murrumbidgee River up near Coree and down past Tharwa where you can spot them hangout on the highwire, hunting prey. Friend of the Bird, Jade Donney, was kind enough to share a pic of our local residents, and you can see more of her wildlife photography here.
But for my money, the best thing these birds do is huddle.
Sometimes the look like a great big green caterpillar when they do it, and it’s pretty fab.
07/03/2021
Bird of the Week 