Southern Carmine Bee-eater

Merops nubicoides des Murs & Pucheran, 1846

Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Merops nubicoides, is a bee-eater of Africa, breeding from Angola to western Tanzania and south to Namibia, Botswana and northern South Africa. It was described by des Murs and Pucheran in 1846. It is a migratory bird and breeds between August and November before moving to southern Africa for the summer and then to Equatorial Africa from March to August. Its plumage is mainly carmine, with a blue crown and undertail. It feeds chiefly on bees and other flying insects.

Order

Coraciiformes

Family

Meropidae — Bee-eaters

Breeding range

Africa: Angola to w Tanzania, s to Namibia, Botswana and n South Africa