Rainbow bee-eater Facts
Rainbow bee-eater Facts
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| Interesting Rainbow bee-eater Facts: |
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| Rainbow bee-eater can reach 7.5 to 10.6 inches in length and 0.7 to 1.2 ounces of weight. |
| Rainbow bee-eater has golden yellow crown, black eye-line with blue outlines and orange-yellow throat. Dorsal side of the body, wings and chest are green. Bottom side of the wings is reddish-brown colored. Tail is black or deep violet. Under-tail coverts and lower parts of back are bright blue. Central tail feathers are very long and more prominent in males. |
| Rainbow bee-eater has slim body, red eyes, slender, slightly curved bill and long tail. |
| Rainbow bee-eater is extremely agile and maneuverable in the air. It flies swiftly and performs various twists and turns during the flight. |
| Rainbow bee-eater is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet is based mostly on bees and wasps. Other than that, rainbow bee-eater consumes damselflies, dragonflies, butterflies and moths. |
| Rainbow bee-eater catches insects in the air and transports them back to the perch. Before it swallows the bee or wasp, rainbow bee-eater first removes their sting and venom by rubbing the sting against the perch. |
| Rainbow bee-eater emits loud alarm calls when it detects predators. It flies directly toward the intruder to chase it away. Other birds from the flock soon join and cooperatively attack predator until it starts to retreat. |
| Natural enemies of adult rainbow bee-eaters are dingoes and monitor lizards. Cane toads eat hatchlings. |
| Rainbow bee-eaters gather in small flocks and travel from the northern parts of Australia and New Guinea (where they spend winter) to the southern areas to breed. |
| Mating season of rainbow bee-eaters takes place outside the rainy season in the north and from November to January in the southern parts of their range. Rainbow bee-eaters nest in small colonies (up to 50 pairs of birds). |
| Rainbow bee-eaters build nests in the sand. Nest can be 3 to 10 feet long. It consists of long, narrow tunnel (entrance) and one large chamber. |
| Rainbow bee-eaters are monogamous birds (they mate for a lifetime). |
| Female lays 4 to 8 eggs per season. Both male and female participate in the incubation of eggs, which lasts around 24 days. |
| Both parents and occasionally other birds from the colony (those that do not have partners) provide food for the chicks. Young rainbow bee-eaters learn to fly at the age of 30 days. |
| Rainbow bee-eater can survive only 2 years in the wild. |
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