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Merops (genus)
''Merops'' is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae, native to Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. The members of this family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air. All bee-eaters are in the genus ''Merops'' and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asiatic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae (in genera ''Nyctyornis'' and '' Meropogon''). The genus ''Merops'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The type species is the European bee-eater. The genus name is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater". Taxonomy and systematics Twenty-seven species are recognized: Former species Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Merops'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin; his name is rendered in Latin as and, after his 1761 ennoblement, as . Linnaeus was born in Råshult, the countryside of Småland, in southern Sweden. He received most of his higher education at Uppsala University and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published the first edition of his ' in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Oreobates
The cinnamon-chested bee-eater (''Merops oreobates'') is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. They are found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Description The species measures in length and weighs .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . The sexes are alike. They have bright green heads, upper parts, and tails; their chins and throats are yellow and outlined in black, with a white extension to the side; their breasts are cinnamon-brown, darkening towards the belly. When perched, their stance is upright with the tail pointing downward. The tail is blackish with an orange base and white tip when seen from the front, while from the back it is mainly green, with black edges visible when it is flared. This bird can be distinguished from the somewhat similar little bee-eater by their larger size, darker colouring, white cheek patches, and the upland habitat w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Malimbicus
The rosy bee-eater (''Merops malimbicus'') is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo. Taxonomy English naturalist George Shaw first described the rosy bee-eater in 1806 as ''Merops malimbicus''. This type of locality being from Malimbe, Cabinda in Angola. Molecular studies suggest that this species is most closely related to the white-throated bee-eater (''Merops albicollis'') and the northern carmine bee-eater (''M. nubicus''). Description The adult is a distinctively colored bird that grows to a length of with tail-streamers adding to this, and weighing about . Both sexes have similar features. The forehead and crown are dark grey, the mask black and the chin and cheek are white. The mantle is black, the wings and back are slate-grey and the rump paler grey. The tail is carmine, gradually bleaching to grey. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Nubicus
The northern carmine bee-eater (''Merops nubicus'') is a brightly-coloured bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is found across northern tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the southern carmine bee-eater which has a carmine coloured throat rather than the blue throat of the northern species. Taxonomy The northern carmine bee-eater was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other bee-eaters in the genus ''Merops'' and coined the binomial name ''Merops nubicus''. Gmelin based his description on "Le guépier rouge à tête bleu" or "Guépier de Nubie" that had been described and illustrated in 1779 by French polymath Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume book ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux''. Buffon had been provided with a picture drawn by the Scottish trave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Orientalis
The Asian green bee-eater (''Merops orientalis''), also known as little green bee-eater, and green bee-eater in Sri Lanka, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across Asia from coastal southern Iran east through the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam. Populations in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that were formerly assigned to this species (under the name Green Bee-eater) are now considered distinct species. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named. Taxonomy and systematics The Asian green bee-eater was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 using its current binomial name. Several populations have been designated as subspecies: * ''M. o. beludschicus'' (=''M. o. biludschicus'') Iran to Pakistan (paler colours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Leschenaulti
The chestnut-headed bee-eater (''Merops leschenaulti''), or bay-headed bee-eater, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions, ranging from India east to Southeast Asia. This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, with blue on the rump and lower belly. Its face and throat are yellow with a black eye stripe, and the crown and nape are rich chestnut. The thin curved bill is black. Sexes are alike, but young birds are duller. This species is 18–20 cm long; it lacks the two elongated central tail feathers possessed by most of its relatives. Description Forehead, crown, nape, lower face and ear-coverts bright chestnut ; lores black, continued as a band under the eye and ear-coverts ; wing-coverts, lower back and tertiaries green, the latter tipped with bluish; rump and upper tail-coverts pale shining blue; primaries and secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Viridis
The blue-throated bee-eater (''Merops viridis'') is a species of bird in the bee-eater family. They are found throughout southeast Asia in subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Their diet consists mostly of bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Blue-throated bee-eaters are small with colorful plumage consisting of a red nape, dark green wings, light green breast, and their signature blue throat. Juvenile plumage contain dark green head and wings and light green breasts, only developing their full plumage in adulthood. They have a rich variety of songs and calls, including longcalls which allow them to communicate long distances in the forest. Blue-throated bee-eaters practice asynchronous brooding, which means that chicks hatch at different times, often pairing with siblicide. Older chicks are not only larger and able to withstand larger wounds from other siblings, but also have the ability to monopolize the food they are fed by parents. There has been several observations of migratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Philippinus
The blue-tailed bee-eater (''Merops philippinus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia where many populations are strongly migratory, and seen seasonally in many parts but breeding colonially in small areas across their range, mostly in river valleys, where they nest by tunneling into loamy sand banks. They are seen mostly in open habitats close to water. Description This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. The three outer toes are united around their bases. It can reach a length of 23–26 cm, including the two elongated central tail feathers which can be just two inches more than the remaining ten feathers. Sexes are alike. This species is usually found near water and like other bee-eaters it predominantly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Superciliosus
The olive bee-eater or Madagascar bee-eater (''Merops superciliosus'') is a near passerine bee-eater species in the genus ''Merops''. It is native to the southern half of Africa where it is present in Angola; Botswana; Burundi; Comoros; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Kenya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mayotte; Mozambique; Namibia; Rwanda; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe. It is a common species with a wide range so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as "least concern". Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the olive bee-eater in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected on the island of Madagascar. He used the French name ''Le guespier de Madagascar'' and the Latin ''Apiaster Madagascariensis''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Persicus
The blue-cheeked bee-eater (''Merops persicus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. The genus name ''Merops'' is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and ''persicus'' is Latin for "Persian". It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed and live year-round in the Sahel. This species occurs as a rare vagrant north of its breeding range, with most vagrants occurring in Italy and Greece. Taxonomy and systematics Two subspecies are recognized: *''Merops persicus persicus'' - Breeds in Asia, winters in East and Southern Africa. *''Merops persicus chrysocercus'' - Breeds in North Africa, winters in West Africa. This species is closely related to blue-tailed bee-eater, ''M. philippinus'' of East Asia, and the olive bee-eater of Africa, and has been treated as being the same species (conspecific). Description This spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Apiaster
The European bee-eater (''Merops apiaster'') is a near passerine bird 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 The European bee-eater was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under its current binomial name ''Merops apiaster''. The genus name ''Merops'' is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and ''apiaster'' is Latin, also meaning "bee-eater", from ''apis'', "bee". Description This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It has brown and yellow upper parts, whilst the wings are green and the beak is black. It can reach a length of , includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Ornatus
The rainbow bee-eater (''Merops ornatus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. Taxonomy The rainbow bee-eater is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia and is monotypic. Its closest relative is most likely the olive bee-eater (''Merops superciliosus'') of southern and eastern Africa, but molecular phylogenetic analysis places the rainbow bee-eater as closest relative with the European bee-eater (''M. apiaster''). It was first described by John Latham in 1801. The generic name is Ancient Greek ''merops'' which means 'bee-eater' and the specific epithet is Latin ''ornatus'' 'ornate, adorned'. Description Rainbow bee-eaters are brilliantly coloured birds that grow to be in length, including the elongated tail feathers, and weighing . The upper back and wings are green in colour, and the lower back and under-tail coverts are bright blue. The undersides of the wings and primary flight feathers are rufous to copper with green edges and tipped with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
