tags: ornithology, birds, avian, National Geographic
Painting the Sky
A brilliant blur as it plucks a butterfly from the air, the European bee-eater, Merops apiaster, leads a colorful life on three continents.
Image: Jözsef L. Szentpéteri/National Geographic [larger view].
My contact, an editor at National Geographic, just sent me a link to a story and photoessay that details the courtship and breeding of European Bee-eaters, Merops apiaster. The story is fascinating and well-worth reading and the photographs, as always for National Geographic, brings tears of wonder to one's eyes.
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tags: ornithology, birds, avian, National Geographic
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My immediate reaction to this image was "OH!." Remarkable work.
On rare occaisions they have at least attempted to nest here in the UK. I have never seen one over here, but they are very prominent birds in southern Europe - they like to perch on telephone wires when not wheling overhead in fair sized flocks
During a visit to the Forest at Fontainebleau in 2005, Didier, an accomodating French birder, was delighted to show me a colony of European Bee-eaters there. I have an indelible memory of these lovely birds. h
Thanks for the links! Why are not the Bee-eaters afflicted by milkweed toxins?
I'm so proud of myself. I didn't recognize the bird, but I did identify the butterfly.