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European Bee-eater

File:Bee-eater_(19270331108).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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European Bee-eater

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Also known as Merops apiaster, European bee eater, Bee-eater, Bee eater

species of bird of genus Merops

OverviewAI-generated

The European Bee-eater (*Merops apiaster*) is a species of bird classified within the family Meropidae and order Coraciiformes. It belongs to the genus *Merops* and is part of the class Aves and phylum Chordata. The species was described by Linnaeus in 1758 and is also known by the common names Bienenfresser, Abejaruco europeo, and gwybedog gwenyn.

This bird has a wingspan of 0.47 and a mass of 6.5. Its diet consists primarily of bees, wasps, termites, and Odonata. Reproductive characteristics include a litter size of 6.3 and an egg incubation period of 20. The maximum longevity in the wild is recorded as 5.9 years.

The taxon range includes Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Italy. The IUCN Red List assessed the species as Least Concern in 2024.

Synthesized by Vinony from 28 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, Encyclopedia of Life, IUCN Red List, WoRMS, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

bee-eater

Species

  1. PhylumChordata
  2. ClassAves
  3. OrderCoraciiformes
  4. FamilyMeropidae

Maximum longevity: 5.9 years (wild)

via IUCN

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Merops
Mass
6.5
Image
Бджолоїдка звичайна або щурка європейська.jpg
Show 13 more facts
taxon rank
species
IUCN conservation status
Least Concern
taxon name
Merops apiaster
Commons category
Merops apiaster
Commons gallery
Merops apiaster
taxon common name
abelharuco-europeu
wingspan
0.47
litter size
6.3
egg incubation period
20
taxon range
Africa
main food source
beetles
short name
M. apiaster
external data available at URL
www.gbif.org/dataset/2c04922c-82dd-4718-ab22-c9772408de9c
Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African population, the species is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its usual range, with occasional breeding in northern Europe.

Taxonomy and systematics

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “European Bee-eater” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (13)

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