Sky Skaters: Sally Forth with Vibrant Bee-eaters

Every year, around March and then again in September, the skies above my home in north Delhi ring to a pleasant trilling, and I know at once that the bee-eaters have arrived. Where they come from and where they are headed, I have no idea, but it is nice to have them around for a while. High up in the heavens, they skate around blithely in circles on triangular pointed wings, snapping up the odd unfortunate dragonfly or bee.

These are green bee-eaters (Merops orientalis) with shimmering gold-brown crowns, green or blue throats, and like others of their clan, a snazzy black “mask of Zorro” (as I like to put it) across their eyes. Of the 30 species (another estimate maintains 22 species) worldwide — stretching from Europe to Australia (Africa is where most species are found), six occur in India. They are non-passerine (i.e., non-perching) birds that prefer keeping a lookout from the tops of posts and trees and are poor at walking or hopping. Most species have a central “pin” feather sticking out from the middle of their tails, somewhat like an antenna, and most are green. (The carmine bee-eater of Africa is one stunning exception.)

As their name suggests, bee-eaters specialise in a diet of bees, wasps, and other flying insects, large and small, such as dragonflies and damselflies. Around 20 studies have shown that between 20 and 96 per cent of their kill comprises bees and wasps. This has made them unpopular with apiarists though they’re not thought to do as much damage to bee populations as they have been accused of. (Aristotle and Virgil had even advised beekeepers to kill these birds if found near hives.)

They catch insects in flight, either from the rear or front. One of the species, the blue-cheeked bee-eater, is said to be able to spot a potential victim from 100 metres away before sallying forth to attack it. A large stinging insect, such as a wasp or rock bee, is snapped up in the pincer-like down-curving bill, brought back to the perch and bashed to death. The bird then closes its eyes and rubs its victim against the perch to squeeze out the stinger and venom sack before devouring its meal: a process learnt quickly by a newbie who has been stung a few times! (This was demonstrated with a captive-raised bee-eater being confronted with a wild bee for the first time.) A bee-eater can take down as many as 225 insects in a day. Smaller prey, like flies, are eaten on the wing.

Bee-eaters nest in burrows tunnelled in earth banks and sandy cliffs along riverbanks or directly in the ground, often in large colonies comprising over a hundred birds (but sometimes solitarily). They breed in summer before the rains break and floods wash away their homes. Usually, the female lays five white eggs, both parents take part in incubation (around 20 days), and the babies leave home in another 30 days. Rodents, snakes, lizards, and raptors predate upon them. Seasonal monogamy is the rule, and in colonies, relatives of a breeding pair may help in bringing up the broods. In crowded colonies, competition for nesting holes is fierce.

Asian green bee-eaters

The green bee-eater is probably the most common of the clan and is found all over the country. These slim, elfin, green birds (16-18 cm) are always a delight to watch as they skate and pirouette in the heavens on triangular pointed wings (that have been compared to Vishnu’s bow). They trill musically before snapping up an unfortunate dragonfly and bashing the hell out of it. They roost communally and are usually found in groups of 15 to 20 birds.

European bee-eater

The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is between 23 and 25 cm long and is multi-coloured with a yellow throat and turquoise underparts. It is a summer visitor to Kashmir, where it breeds.

Chestnut-headed bee-eater

The swanky chestnut-headed bee-eater (Merops leschenaultia) has a shimmering chestnut head and shoulders, a lovely green-blue back and wings, yellow chin and cheeks, and squarish blue tail. It is about 18-20 cm long and is resident and partially migrant; a forest bird that often stays near water and is found nearly all over the country.

Blue-bearded bee-eater

The blue-bearded bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni) at 31-34 cm is the largest bee-eater in India. It is a green bird with a blue forehead and “beard” and lacks the central pin feathers of its compatriots. This shy bird keeps to forest clearings, sitting hunched in deep foliage in pairs or singletons. Blue-bearded bee-eaters fly heavily, in an undulating manner, as they launch aerial sallies after insects. It is resident in the Himalayas from Himachal to the Northeast, and from the Western Ghats to the east coast.

Blue-cheeked bee-eater and blue-tailed bee-eater

The blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus) and the blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus) are similar-looking birds at between 23 and 26 cm. Both have deeper contralto calls than the green bee-eater. The former is bright green and has a distinguishing white and turquoise supercilium, turquoise ear coverts, and a whitish forehead. The latter has a bright blue tail, a chestnut throat and a yellow chin. Seen in west and northwest India, blue-cheeked bee-eaters are found near water and nest communally. Blue-tailed bee-eaters nest in north and northwest India and spend the winter in the peninsula.

One can never tire of watching bee-eaters hunt. From their perch, they will cock their heads this way and that as they keep track of madly zig-zagging bees or wasps and then launch forth and, with unerring beak-eye coordination, home in on their victim, snapping it up before sailing back to their perch to deliver the coup-de-grace. Bee-eaters spend 10 per cent of their time dustbathing, sun-bathing, water-bathing, and just sitting companionably together. There is a certain swashbuckling elegance to these birds, what with their slim, svelte lines and that rakish black mask of Zorro stretched across their alert crimson-ringed eyes.