Southern Carmine Bee-eater ( Merops nubicoides, family: meropidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Carmine Bee-eater
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Latin name Merops nubicoides) is
described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird
has a unique Roberts number of 441 and you will find a full description
of this bird on page 195 also a picture of the Southern Carmine
Bee-eater on page 192. The Southern Carmine Bee-eater belongs to the
family of birds classified as meropidae.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Southern Carmine Bee-eater was called the Carmine Bee-eater
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Southern Carmine Bee-eater in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Southern Carmine Bee-eater : see above distribution map.
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Southern Carmine Bee-eater is about 27 cms and its weight is about 62 gms
The male and female Southern Carmine Bee-eater have the same plumage and colours
- Head is green.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is pink.
- Back is red.
- Legs are grey.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater feeds on wing mainly
Invertebrates
Aquatic life forms
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Merops nubicoides will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Southern Carmine Bee-eater is to create the nest in a hole in the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 5
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Southern Carmine Bee-eater are: woodlands
You will normally see the Southern Carmine Bee-eater in flocks.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... iNkotha-enkulu
Afrikaans ...Rooiborsbyvreter
German ... Scharlachspint
Portuguese ... Abelharuco-rseo
French ... Gupier carmin
Dutch ... Karmijnrode Bijeneter
First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list
For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 441
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
