General Description

Body green, tail black, throat yellow with a black stripe, wings orange. Wide black stripe, with a blue edge, through the eye. Bill long, narrow and black. Bill to tail length is up to 28 cm.

Biology

Rainbow Bee-eaters eat bees and wasps. They catch these in flight and rub them against a branch to remove the stinger before swallowing. The nest is in a sandy bank and consists of a grass-lined nesting chamber at the end of a long tunnel. Nests are re-used each breeding season. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Typical clutch size is four to five eggs. Southern populations migrate north to areas around New Guinea during the winter.

Distribution

Pacific Islands and mainland Australia.

Habitat

Open forests, woodlands, shrublands, grasslands and wetlands.

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