Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
Merops leschenaulti
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCoraciiformes (Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies)
- FamilyMeropidae (Bee-eaters)
- GenusMerops (Typical Bee-eaters)
- SpeciesMerops leschenaulti (Chestnut-headed Bee-eater)
About the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
The chestnut-headed bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti), or bay-headed bee-eater, is a bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds on the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions, ranging from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka across Southeast Asia to Indonesia.
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, with blue on the rump and lower belly. Its face and throat are yellow with a black eye stripe, and the crown and nape are rich chestnut. The thin curved bill is black. Sexes are alike, but young birds are duller. It is 18–20 cm long and lacks the two elongated central tail feathers possessed by most of its relatives.
The chestnut-headed bee-eater was formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot under the current binomial name Merops leschenaulti. He specified the locality as Java. This was an error as this species does not occur there, and the locality has been designated as Sri Lanka. The specific epithet was chosen to honour the French naturalist and collector Jean-Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour who had brought Vieillot's specimen to France.
Three subspecies are recognised: M... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Manas National Park
Asian Green Bee-eater
Merops orientalis
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Merops philippinus
Blue-bearded Bee-eater
Nyctyornis athertoni
White-throated Kingfisher
Halcyon smyrnensis
Indochinese Roller
Coracias affinis
Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Pelargopsis capensis
Dollarbird
Eurystomus orientalis
Ruddy Kingfisher
Halcyon coromanda
Pied Kingfisher
Ceryle rudis
Crested Kingfisher
Megaceryle lugubris
Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher
Ceyx erithaca
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater in Manas National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater sighting in Manas National Park, based on 346 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Chestnut-headed Bee-eater in Manas National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Chestnut-headed Bee-eater in Manas National Park in our monthly data.