The little bee eater is probably one of the most beautiful birds in the Durban South area.
They 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 and a black stripe across the face and some blue eye shadow above the eye. 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.
As their name suggests these 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 insect’s 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 pretty 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.
If you would like to make contact with Warren to have some of your interesting insects, snakes or spiders identified, send him a WhatsApp message or call him on 072-211-0353.
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