Friday 1 March 2019

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Merops ("bee-eater") philippinus ("of the Philippines")
Adult Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) near Lower Pierce Reservoir - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 29-43g  /  Length: 23-26cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A colourful species of Bee-eater found in Southern Asia - in Penninsula Malaysia and Singapore it functionally carries out a switching act the the Blue-throated Bee-eater, whereby this species is a Winter visitor and the Blue-throated a summer one.  It has in the past been regarded as conspecific with similar species in Western Asia and Africa, but is currently regarded as separate.  Out of the Bee-eaters I have seen to date, it is the most cosmopolitan, being seen regularly in artificial habitats such as suburban Singapore.

Related Species:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -
CAMBODIA - Khmer - ត្រដេវក្បាលបៃតង ("Green Bee-eater"?)
A fairly common resident
 - Seen at Prek Toal and Florican Grassland Reserve
SINGAPORE - A fairly common Winter migrant
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Seen around Lower Pierce Reservoir and surrounding area

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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