Merops albicollis (*)
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Coraciiformes
Familia: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
Species: Merops albicollis
Name
Merops albicollis Vieillot, 1817
References
Vieillot, L.P. 1817. Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. Par une société de naturalistes et d'agriculteurs. Avec des figures tirées des trois règnes de la nature. Tome 14. 627 pp. + 7 tt. Déterville, Paris. p. 15 BHLReference page.
Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Witkeelbyvreter
العربية: وروار أبيض الحنجرة
български: Белогуш пчелояд
brezhoneg: Gwespetaer gouzoug gwenn
català: Abellerol gorjablanc
čeština: Vlha bělohrdlá
Cymraeg: Gwenynysor gyddfwyn
dansk: Hvidstrubet Biæder
Deutsch: Weißkehlspint
English: White-throated Bee-eater
Esperanto: Blankgorĝa abelmanĝulo
español: Abejaruco gorjiblanco
فارسی: زنبورخوار گلوسفید
français: Guêpier à gorge blanche
עברית: שרקרק לבן גרון
magyar: Fehértorkú gyurgyalag
italiano: Gruccione golabianca
Nederlands: Witkeelbijeneter
پنجابی: چٹے گاٹیوالا مکھی کھانا
português: Abelharuco-de-garganta-branca
русский: Белогорлая щурка
svenska: Vitstrupig biätare
українська: Бджолоїдка білогорла
The 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. The white-throated bee-eater is migratory, wintering in a completely different habitat in the equatorial rain forests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda.
Description
Male in flight
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, but its face and throat are white with a black crown, eye stripe, and neckband. The underparts are pale green shading to blue on the breast. The eye is red and the beak is black.
The white-throated bee-eater can reach a length of 19–21 cm, excluding the two very elongated central tail feathers, which can exceed an additional length of 12 cm. They weigh between 20 and 28 grams. Sexes are alike, except that the male has longer tail feathers. The call is similar to European bee-eater.
Habits
White-throated bee-eaters also feed and roost communally. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes mainly flying ants and beetles.
Nesting
The white-throated bee-eater is a bird which breeds in dry sandy open country, such thorn scrub and near-desert. These abundant bee-eaters are gregarious, nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. They make a relatively long 1–2 m tunnel in which the 6 to 7 spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, but up to five helpers also assist with caring for the young.
Status
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the white-throated bee-eater is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References
BirdLife International (2016). "Merops albicollis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683714A92997462. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683714A92997462.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers by Fry, Fry and Harris, ISBN 0-7136-8028-8
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