Blue-tailed Bee-eater

March 3rd, 2010

by Krishna Mohan

I am Hungry

hi, I am a Blue-tailed Bee-eater. They call me scientifically Merops philippinus. I belong to great bee-eater family called Meropidae. We bee-eaters rank among the most delightful birds on Earth and possess startling grace and beauty.

Yummy Nice Bee

My species very similar and is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus). We live throughout South East Asia. We are strongly migratory.

Let me remove his sting

Like other bee-eaters, I am a richly-colored, slender bird with predominantly green; my face has a narrow blue patch with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the tail is blue and the beak is black. I can grow to a length of 23-26 cm, including the two elongated central tail feathers. Even though we have confusion in our sexes as both sexes are alike we manage to breed along.

Wow that was delightful

We love to breed in sub-tropical open country, such as farmland, parks or rice fields. My favorite spots are near large water bodies. Like other bee-eaters our main food are insects. I love bees, wasps and hornets. I enjoy catching them in the air by sorties from an open perch. I like to eat bees and dragonflies in roughly equal numbers. The insects that are caught needs to be beaten on the perch to kill and break their exoskeleton.

Ugh here comes my bee snatcher

We bee-eaters are gregarious, make nesting colonially in sandy banks or open flat areas. A relatively long tunnel in which the 5 to 7 spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs. We also feed and roost communally.

My photographs were taken with Canon EOS 7D and Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens. If you liked my story please send me your comments.

EXIF info…
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: EF300mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure Mode: Auto exposure
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.
Exposure Bias: +1.0
Aperture (F Stop): f/5.6
ISO Used: 200
Flash Used: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode.
White Balance: As Shot
Focal Length: 300.0 mm
Metering Mode: Pattern
Date Time: 2010:01:24 15:35:29
GPS Location in Google Map:
unknown (no GPS data)
Copyright © Krishna Mohan
All rights Reserved. This Image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or trasmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. If you’d like to make usage request, just ask: drkrishi@drkrishi.com

EXIF info…
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: EF300mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure Mode: Auto exposure
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.
Exposure Bias: +1.0
Aperture (F Stop): f/4.5
ISO Used: 200
Flash Used: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode.
White Balance: As Shot
Focal Length: 300.0 mm
Metering Mode: Pattern
Date Time: 2010:01:24 15:36:05
GPS Location in Google Map:
unknown (no GPS data)
Copyright © Krishna Mohan
All rights Reserved. This Image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or trasmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. If you’d like to make usage request, just ask: drkrishi@drkrishi.com

EXIF info…
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: EF300mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure Mode: Auto exposure
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.
Exposure Bias: +1.0
Aperture (F Stop): f/4.5
ISO Used: 200
Flash Used: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode.
White Balance: As Shot
Focal Length: 300.0 mm
Metering Mode: Pattern
Date Time: 2010:01:24 15:36:09
GPS Location in Google Map:
unknown (no GPS data)
Copyright © Krishna Mohan
All rights Reserved. This Image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or trasmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. If you’d like to make usage request, just ask: drkrishi@drkrishi.com

EXIF info…
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: EF300mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure Mode: Auto exposure
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.
Exposure Bias: +1.0
Aperture (F Stop): f/5.6
ISO Used: 200
Flash Used: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode.
White Balance: As Shot
Focal Length: 300.0 mm
Metering Mode: Pattern
Date Time: 2010:01:24 15:36:47
GPS Location in Google Map:
unknown (no GPS data)
Copyright © Krishna Mohan
All rights Reserved. This Image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or trasmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. If you’d like to make usage request, just ask: drkrishi@drkrishi.com

EXIF info…
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: EF300mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure Mode: Auto exposure
Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.
Exposure Bias: +1.0
Aperture (F Stop): f/5.6
ISO Used: 200
Flash Used: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode.
White Balance: As Shot
Focal Length: 300.0 mm
Metering Mode: Pattern
Date Time: 2010:01:24 15:36:48
GPS Location in Google Map:
unknown (no GPS data)
Copyright © Krishna Mohan
All rights Reserved. This Image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or trasmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. If you’d like to make usage request, just ask: drkrishi@drkrishi.com

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