Green Bee-eater
Smaragdspint (Merops orientalis)
The Smaragdspint (Merops orientalis ) is a bird of the family of bee-eater ( Meropidae ).
Features
The Smaragdspint is a colorful, slender bird. The plumage is colored on the top gold - green to dark green. The bottom varies depending on the subspecies. The wings are green, eye mask and beak is black and the eyes are red. The bird reaches a total length of 16 to 18 cm; added even up to 10 cm long elongated middle tail feathers. These missing the young bird.
Occurrence
In Africa south of the Smaragdspint comes before the Sahara from Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and the Nile Valley; in Asia, in parts of the Near and Middle East and from India to Vietnam. He lives in dry, open wooded landscapes. Due to the large area of distribution and frequency of the type of Smaragdspint is not considered endangered.
Subspecies
We distinguish seven subspecies:
- M. o viridissimus comes from Senegal to Ethiopia before. It is yellowish green. The elongated middle tail feathers are up to 96 mm long.
- M. o cleopratra lives in the Nile Valley. The elongated middle tail feathers are 86 mm long.
- M. o cyanophrys lives in the southwest and southeast of the Arabian Peninsula (eg: Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates), and in areas near the Dead Sea and the Jordan before. Forehead and eyebrows are azure, chin and throat cerulean, the hood olive green. The elongated middle tail feathers are only 23 mm long.
- M. o najdanus lives in central Saudi Arabia and is yellowish and pale green and has a narrower band than M. Kehl o cyanophrys.
- M. o beludschicus lives in the coastal lowlands of the Shatt al-Arab on Iran and Pakistan to the Punjab and to Rajasthan. Hood and neck are golden green, chin and throat pale blue, the 1-2 mm wide neck stripe is pale green. The elongated middle tail feathers are up to 60 mm long.
- O M. orientalis lives in India and Sri Lanka and has a dark green and less yellowish plumage as M. o beludschicus. The elongated middle tail-feathers to 71 mm long.
- M. o ferrugeiceps lives from Assam to Burma and Vietnam. Hood, neck and sheath are red-brown. Under the black mask is still a narrow green. The elongated middle tail feathers are up to 63 mm long.
Behavior
The Smaragdspint is a fairly common and confiding bird. From a low seat waiting for it hunts insects, mainly bees, wasps and ants in flight.
Reproduction
During the monogamous Smaragdspint in Africa secluded up to 2 m long burrows burrows in sand banks, it breeds in India and in colonies with up to 30 breeding pairs. The nest consists of four to eight white eggs, which are incubated by both parents birds.