Swallow-tailed Bee-eater… and what else??

I’m assuming that the bee-eaters that zoomed around near me on Friday were a mix of adult and  Juvenile birds … The juvies are also at difference stages… well that is my opinion or I’ve found a new specie of bee-eater…

In the first photo, the colouring of the two birds are similar, with the one, I think, still developing into it’s adult colours… what do you think.??

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The nearer to the camera bird has a shorter tail and the yellow under the beak needs to develop further… also the eye is not as red as the others… here’s a photo of the adult…

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BUT then this one came and sat nearby and I became confused….

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I have to surmise it is a youngster even though I watched it flying around catching its own food… (not bees but flying insects)…

These bee-eaters nest as pairs or in very small colonies in sandy banks, or similar flat ground. They make a relatively long tunnel in which the 2 to 4 spherical, white eggs are laid. These birds also feed and roost communally.

I still look forward to the day I capture them when all roosting together and not like these birds, actively hunting….

24 thoughts on “Swallow-tailed Bee-eater… and what else??

  1. Both of them look kind of ticked off, so I know they must be related to each other. But the younger one seems to have much more of a defiant look–a total give-away for a teenager! 😉 That’s how I identify critters. Very scientific, huh? 😉

      • For sure…probably in the next 6 months or so! I know I will become addicted. I’ve identified these birds right off our back deck with binoculars.
        Great Blue Heron
        White tailed kite
        Great Egret
        American Robin
        Western Bluebird
        Black Phoebe
        Western Scrub-jay
        Mourning Dove
        Anna’s Hummingbird
        Rufous hummingbird
        Red-shouldered hawk
        Belted Kingfisher
        American Crow
        Mallard
        Hooded Merganser
        Common Merganser
        Double-crested Cormorant
        Turkey Vulture
        Northern flicker
        Green Heron
        Northern Harrier
        Wild Turkey
        Canada Goose
        American Coot
        Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
        Red-breasted Sapsucker
        Western Gull
        Acorn Woodpecker
        Oak Titmouse
        Nuttall’s Woodpecker
        Dark-eyed junco
        Yellow rumped warbler (early March 6:20)
        Black-crowned night heron, adult (3/13/15 7:15 pm)

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