Blue-bearded bee-eater
Preying on a cicada. Thailand.
Calls
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Nyctyornis
Species:
N. athertoni
Binomial name
Nyctyornis athertoni
(Jardine & Selby, 1828)[2]
Distribution of the Nyctyornis athertoni
Synonyms

Merops athertoni
Alcemerops athertoni[3]

The blue-bearded bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni) is a species of bee-eater found in much of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. This bee-eater is found in forest clearings. It is found mainly in the Malayan region but extends west into peninsular India. The blue feathers of its throat are elongated and often fluffed giving it its name. They have a loud call but are not as gregarious or active as the smaller bee-eaters, and their square ended tail lacks the typical "wires" made up of the shafts of the longer central tail feathers found in many other bee-eaters.

Description

Nominate subspecies perched on an Erythrina sp., Bangladesh

This is probably the largest species of the bee-eater family. Adults measure 31 to 35 cm (12 to 14 in) in length and weigh 70 to 93 g (2.5 to 3.3 oz).[4][5] This species has a large sickle shaped bill and the square ended tail lacks the "wires" that are typical of smaller bee-eaters. The bird is grass green with a turquoise forehead, face and chin. The feathers of the throat are elongated giving it a bearded appearance when they are fluffed out. The belly is yellowish to olive with streaks of green or blue. The peninsular Indian populations are said to be paler green than the northeast Indian populations.[6] Although males and females appear similar, the blue throat feathers of the male show higher ultraviolet reflectivity than those of the female.[7]

The species is named after Lieut. John Atherton (13th Light Dragoons, died in 1827) a nephew of Mrs. P. J. Selby who obtained a specimen of the bird. Selby described the species in "Illustrations of Ornithology" published along with Sir William Jardine in 1828.[8] Jardine and Selby described it in the Illustrations of Ornithology (Series 1, Volume 2 part 4, November 1828, plate 58) and the type locality (holotype is in the Selby Collection, UMZC, 25/Mer/7/b/2) was said to be Cachar District Assam by E. C. Stuart Baker[9] but Sir N B Kinnear re-designated Bangalore as the type locality for the species based on the fact that Atherton was posted in Bangalore when he wrote to Selby and noted that he was helped by a French collector (thought to be Leschenault).[10][11] However the species is rare in that region.[12] Atherton informed Selby that the bird was very rare, found in the thickest jungles, feeding at night and noisy with "curr, curr" calls.[13]

The nominate form is found in India and parts of mainland Southeast Asia while brevicaudatus is an insular population from Hainan. A subspecies bartletti from northeastern India, described by W. N. Koelz, is usually considered part of the nominate population.[14][15]

Distribution and habitat

The feathers of the chin are long and sometimes raised up into a "beard".

This species is found in a variety of habitats mostly at medium altitudes but below 2000m altitude. Thin to fairly thick forest in medium elevations with clearings is the typical habitat. It is found singly or in small groups of up to three and is very patchily distributed.[6] Their presence in an area can easily be missed.[16] It has been reported from the hill regions of the Satpuras, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, Nilgiris, Chota Nagpur and from the Sub-Himalayan forests.[17][18][19]

Behaviour and ecology

The nest tunnel excavated in a vertical mud bank

This bird has a loud call, but does not call frequently. It is also not as active as the smaller bee-eaters. The calls include cackling hornbill like calls, a dry "Kit-tik... Kit-tik" in a series or hollow nasal "kyao" calls. Pairs may engage in duets of cackling and rattling which ends in short purring notes.[6] The flight is undulating and very barbet-like.[20]

The breeding season is February to August in India and courtship involves ritual feeding, bowing and tail fanning.[6] Nest excavation may begin a month before the laying of eggs. The nest is a deep tunnel in a mud bank within which four very spherical and white eggs are laid.[21]

The species appears to feed mainly on bees.[11] It exploits the defensive behavior of Giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) colonies by provoking the mass release of guard bees which are then caught in the air and eaten as they pursue the bird.[22] Although mainly foraging using aerial sallies, it is known to sometimes glean from bark.[23] They may sometimes associate with mixed-species foraging flocks.[24] Birds have been seen at flowers of Erythrina and Salmalia although it is unclear whether they fed on nectar or insects attracted to the flowers.[20]

A blood parasite Leucocytozoon nyctyornis has been described from this species[25] and feather parasites in the genus Brueelia are also known.[26]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Nyctyornis athertoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683664A92994720. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683664A92994720.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Jardine, William & P. J. Selby (1830). lllustrations of Ornithology. Volume 2. plate 58. Edinburgh: W.H.Lizars.
  3. ^ Guenther, A, ed. (1892). Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. Vol 17. Trustees of the British Museum.
  4. ^ Fry, H. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Blue-bearded Bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
  5. ^ Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-6444-5.
  6. ^ a b c d Rasmussen PC & JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. p. 268.
  7. ^ Eaton, Muir D. & Scott M. Lanyon (2003). "The ubiquity of avian ultraviolet plumage reflectance". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 270 (1525): 1721–1726. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2431. PMC 1691429. PMID 12965000.
  8. ^ Jackson, Christine Elisabeth; Peter Davis (2001). Sir William Jardine: a life in natural history. Continuum International. p. 208. ISBN 0-7185-0164-0.
  9. ^ Baker, ECS (1922). "Hand-list of the "Birds of India". Part 5". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 28: 313–333.
  10. ^ Kinnear, NB (1925). "Letters and notes: Type-localities". Ibis: 751–753. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1925.tb02952.x.
  11. ^ a b Deignan HG (1945). "The birds of northern Thailand". Smithsonian Institution Bulletin. 186: 208–209.
  12. ^ Karthikeyan, S; Prasad, JN (1993). "Recent sighting of Bluebearded Bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni (Jardine & Selby)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 90 (2): 290–291.
  13. ^ Dresser, H.E. (1886). A monograph of the Meropidae, or the family of bee-eaters. London. pp. 9–10.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Storer, R.W. (1988). "Type specimens of birds in the collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology". Miscellaneous Publication, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. 174: 1–69. hdl:2027.42/56418.
  15. ^ Marien, Daniel (1950). "Notes on some Asiatic Meropidae (birds)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 49 (2): 151–164.
  16. ^ Inglis, Charles M (1949). "The Bluebearded Bee-eater (Alcemerops athertoni Jard. & Selby) on the Nilgiris". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 48 (3): 581–582.
  17. ^ Osmaston, BB (1922). "The occurrence of the Bluebearded Bee-eater Nyctiornis athertoni in the Central Provinces". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 28 (3): 805.
  18. ^ Hewetson, C (1944). "Bearded Bee-eater (Alcemerops athertoni) in the Central Provinces". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 44 (4): 592–593.
  19. ^ Ara, Jamal (1951). "Distribution of the Blue-bearded Bee-eater [Nyctiornis athertoni (Jardine & Selby)]". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (1): 175–176.
  20. ^ a b Ali S & SD Ripley (1983). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 4. Oxford University Press. pp. 112–113.
  21. ^ Blanford, WT, ed. (1895). Fauna of British India. Birds Vol. 3. pp. 115–116.
  22. ^ Gerald Kastberger; D.K. Sharma (2000-09-22). "The predator-prey interaction between blue-bearded bee eaters (Nyctyornis athertoni Jardine and Selby 1830) and giant honeybees (Apis dorsata Fabricius 1798)" (PDF). Apidologie. 31 (6). EDP Sciences: 727–736. doi:10.1051/apido:2000157. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  23. ^ Santharam, V (1999). "Birds foraging on tree trunks". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 96 (3): 468–469.
  24. ^ Fleming, RL & M A Traylor (1968). "Distributional notes on Nepal birds". Fieldiana. 53 (3): 147–203.
  25. ^ Nandi NC (1986). "Leucocytozoon nyctyornis n. sp. from bluebearded bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni (Jardine and Selby)". Archiv für Protistenkunde. 132 (2): 113–117. doi:10.1016/s0003-9365(86)80013-6.
  26. ^ Williams NS (1981). "The Brueelia (Mallophaga: Philopteridae) of the Meropidae (Aves: Coraciiformes)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 54 (3): 510–518.

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