Purple-bearded Bee-eater
A species of Purple-bearded Bee-eaters Scientific name : Meropogon forsteni Genus : Purple-bearded Bee-eaters
Purple-bearded Bee-eater, A species of Purple-bearded Bee-eaters
Botanical name: Meropogon forsteni
Genus: Purple-bearded Bee-eaters
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Don Roberson 
Description
The purple-bearded bee-eater is a colourful long bird with a long tail, long slender decurved beak and rather rounded wings. It is 25–26 cm (10 inches) long, excluding 6 cm (2/2 inches) of tail streamers. The adult male has a purple head, face, “beard” (long hanging throat feathers), breast and upper belly. The upperparts, wings and tail are green, apart from a reddish-brown nape, and the central tail feathers are elongated as streamers. The lower belly is reddish-brown and the underside of the tail is chestnut. The adult female is similar, but the forebelly is reddish-brown, not purple. Young birds have a green crown and nape, dusky face and bluish beard. They lack the elongated central tail feathers of the adult. The call is a quiet high-pitched szit or peep. 
Size
26 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Purple-bearded Bee-eater primarily consume airborne insects such as bees, wasps, beetles, and dragonflies. They exhibit vigilant foraging from treetops, capturing prey in brief flights, then manipulates and beats it against a perch before consumption.
Habitat
Purple-bearded Bee-eater typically inhabits the clearings and openings within both primary and successional forests. They are also found along the edges of various forest types, including lowland, montane, and elfin moss-forests. Occasionally, they may venture into agricultural land, provided that there are abundant large trees present. Their adaptations are suited to environments that offer a combination of open spaces and dense foliage, which support their foraging and nesting behaviors.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Behavior
The purple-bearded bee-eater undertakes seasonal movements, breeding inland in the dry season, and moving to the coast in the rainy season. Like other bee-eaters it nests in burrows up to 90 cm long tunnelled into the side of sandy river banks, cliffs and cuttings, but does not form colonies. The purple-bearded bee-eater, again like its relatives, eats insects, including bees, wasps and dragonflies and beetles, which are caught in flight. This species hunts alone or in pairs, rather than in flocks, and sits on a favoured perch for long periods, twisting its head with its beard flattened or plumped, and wagging its tail back and forth before sallying after passing prey.
Photo By Don Roberson 
Scientific Classification
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