WildlifeOfEverywhere.com
‹ Back

Olive Bee-eater

Kingfishers, Bee-eaters & Rollers

Photo: (c) Nathan Sarrazin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)

Merops superciliosus

Basic stats

Habitat

Grassland and coastal mountain forest

Range

East Africa and Madagascar; an isolated population in coastal Angola

Clutch size

4 eggs, in a burrow

Size

23–26cm; tail streamers up to 7cm

The olive bee-eater, or Madagascar bee-eater, is 23–26 cm long with tail streamers adding up to 7 cm. The sexes are similar, and adults have bronzy-green plumage with an olive cap and white forehead, eyebrows, chin and cheeks, and a blue rump and tail apart from the black streamers. It is found in the grassland and coastal mountain forests of East Africa and Madagascar, with an isolated population in coastal Angola (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is partially migratory and usually breeds only in the southern part of its range, moving north for the dry season in southern Africa. It lays four eggs in a burrow nest at the start of the southern African wet season, and the chicks usually hatch at the beginning of December. The cached account does not describe any occurrence in India and the species is not in SoIB 2023, so its status on the Indian list should be checked (Wikipedia, general species account).

Quick answers

What habitat does the Olive Bee-eater live in?
Grassland and coastal mountain forest
Where is the Olive Bee-eater found?
East Africa and Madagascar; an isolated population in coastal Angola
How many eggs does the Olive Bee-eater lay?
4 eggs, in a burrow
How big is the Olive Bee-eater?
23–26cm; tail streamers up to 7cm
📷 Upload a photo of this species
🏠Home 🐾Species 🗺️Places 📋Planner 📷Sightings 🔍Search