Bee-eaters

European Bee-eater

Bienenfresser

Merops apiaster

Bee-eaters5 photosFirst seen: 4 September 2026

The European Bee-eater is a colourful long-distance migrant that breeds from southern Europe and North Africa across western Asia and winters mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Colonies excavate nest tunnels in sandy or earthen banks.

ID tip: Even at distance, the long slightly downcurved bill, pointed wings and elongated central tail feathers are useful. At close range the chestnut crown, yellow throat, black eye-mask and blue-green underparts are unmistakable.

First seen: 4 September 2026 · Lake Skadar · 5 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Lake Skadar4 September 2026 Ulcinj Salt Flats6 September 2026

Family: Bee-eaters (Meropidae)
Length: 27–29 cm
Wingspan: 44–49 cm
Regional status: Summer visitor (Montenegro)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 5 September 2026
Habitat: Warm open country, river valleys, farmland and sandy banks
Diet: Flying insects, especially bees, wasps, dragonflies and beetles

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

European Bee-eater

Places in my records

Selected photographs