The Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a vibrant African bird known for its brilliant colors and incredible aerial hunting skills. It features a stunning turquoise throat, a yellow chin, and a distinct black eye stripe.
Remarkably, this tiny bird specializes in a dangerous diet: stinging bees and wasps. To eat them safely, it captures the insects mid-air and flies to a nearby perch. It then rubs the insect's abdomen against a hard branch to remove the venomous stinger before swallowing. These brave hunters live in open savannas, nesting in deep tunnels dug into sandy soil banks.
I found this group in an acacia tree located in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Check out the photo in this post: “Little Bee-eater Eating a Little Bee.”
Bible Land Explorers are headed back to Tanzania June 3-13, 2027. Lake Victoria, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, are on our agenda as we photo-hunt big cats, small birds, and everything in-between. We are now receiving registrations for this exclusive small-group adventure. See the link here for brochure and more information or email us at BibleLandExplorer@gmail.com.