Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Blauwangenspint (Merops persicus )

The Blauwangenspint (Merops persicus ) is a bird of the genus (Merops ) and Family of the Bee-eater ( Meropidae ). It is found in North Africa and in South and Southwest Asia.

Appearance

The Blauwangenspint is green on the underside of the fuselage, his throat is rust-colored luminous. The top and wings are dark olive green and iridescent, as well as the vertex. The area around the beak approach is pale yellow. A wide black blindfold runs from beak approach as close to the neck. About The eye-streak is white, the cheeks are pale blue. The tail is gray on the bottom, the middle tail-feathers have greatly prolonged Federschäfte that make up as a pointed projections about a third of tail length. The under tail-coverts are pale green. The legs are dark and the iris is reddish brown.

Possible confusion

High in the sky attracting migratory birds can be confused with the European bee-eater, in Africa with the Madagaskarspint and North West India with the Blauschwanzspint

Habitat and Distribution

As a bird of the desert edge of the Blauwangenspint breeds on sandy or covered with gravel rivers and winter in bushy grassland and cultivated, open woodland. It is rarely found far from water and generally below a height of 1500 meters.

He comes from Morocco and Algeria to Turkey and northern Kazakhstan to the south of Northwest India before.

Voice

The reputation of the Blauwangenspints is very similar to the European bee -eater and consists of a rolling " diririp ". The alarm call is a sharp " dik dik - dik ".

Subspecies

There are known two subspecies:

• M. p. persicus - broods from the Nile Delta to to Rajasthan and north to Lake Balkhash; winters in eastern and southern Africa. The top is grass green.
• M. p. chysocercus - broods at the edge of the Western Sahara and wintered in West Africa. The top is green gold. Overall, a bit smaller than M. p. persicus.