Bright yellow bee eater birds are plentiful in Durban
Their diet is made up primarily of bees, but they also eat other flying insects, depending on the season and availability of prey.
BEE eaters are no bigger than a house sparrow and have beautiful grass green wings with a sunset orange chest, yellow neck with a small black gorget, a black stripe across the face, and blue eye shadow above the eye.
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They are residents in most of sub-Saharan Africa that often form small colonies, even nesting communally.
“I often see them in my own back garden on The Bluff and also at the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, where they usually move around in groups of four to 10 individuals. They are also a common sight on The Bluff Golf Course,” said Warren Dick.
As their name suggests, they are insect eating birds, feeding on a number of insects, but specialise in eating bees, wasps and hornets. They usually hunt from a low perch, where they dart off and catch insects mid-air, returning to the same perch where they will usually beat their prey against the perch to knock the sting off before swallowing it.
“I have known them to be very efficient hunters.”
Unlike most bee-eater species, they are solitary nesters where they make burrows into sand banks, usually near rivers, where they lay four to six white eggs. Both male and female look after the babies. However, young bee-eaters will often roost communally, all huddled up on one branch together.
Contact Warren to have some of your interesting insects, snakes or spiders identified. Call or WhatsApp him on 072 211 0353. Visit his Facebook page, Warren’s Small World.
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