Yellow Mongoose.. “give us a smile”

Some subjects are more difficult than others…

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater..

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus)

This bird is easily discernable from the other bee-eaters because of it’s forked tail. It can reach a length of 20–22 cm, including the long forked green or blue feathers. Sexes are the same.

This is a specie which prefers somewhat more wooded country than most bee-eaters. Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Swallowtail has a preference for honeybees.

They nest in the ground in river banks, with a long tunnel, where they lay 2 – 4 eggs. This bird is one of my difficult birds, I struggle to get good pictures of them, due to their flying off the perch just as I take the photo and I end up with a picture of a tree or wire fence. But here are a few I have managed to get.. not too good due to being in a hurry before they fly off…

Have you seen our webcams that are operational in the game parks called Africam? try it to see animals in their natural habitat. Here is a screen shot I took the other day…