{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Merops ornatus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22683753A92998888 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683753A92998888.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | image = Merops ornatus - Centenary Lakes.jpg | image_caption=Perching on a bubbler in Cairns, Queensland, Australia | genus = Merops | species = ornatus | authority = Latham, 1801 }}
The '''rainbow bee-eater''' ('''''Merops ornatus''''') is a bird species in the bee-eater family Meropidae.
==Taxonomy== The rainbow bee-eater is the only species of bee-eater found in Australia and is monotypic, meaning it has no accepted subspecies.<ref>Gill, F. and D. Donsker, eds. (2020). ''IOC World Bird List (v 10.1)''. {{doi|10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1}} http://www.worldbirdnames.org/</ref><ref name=Fry /> Its closest relative is most likely the olive bee-eater (''Merops superciliosus'') of southern and eastern Africa,<ref name=Fry /> but molecular phylogenetic analysis places the rainbow bee-eater as closest relative with the European bee-eater (''M. apiaster'').<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Marks|first1=Ben D.|last2=Weckstein|first2=Jason D.|last3=Moyle|first3=Robert G.|date=October 2007|title=Molecular phylogenetics of the Bee-eaters (Aves: Meropidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|language=en|volume=45|issue=1|pages=23–32|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.004|pmid=17716922|bibcode=2007MolPE..45...23M }}</ref> It was first described by John Latham in 1801. The generic name is Ancient Greek ''merops'' which means 'bee-eater' and the specific epithet is Latin ''ornatus'' 'ornate, adorned'.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling| title=Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird-names|last=Jobling |first=James A. |year=2010 |access-date = 2020-05-28}}</ref>
==Description== Rainbow bee-eaters are brilliantly coloured birds that grow to be {{cvt|23–28|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, including the elongated tail feathers, and weighing {{cvt|20-33|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Pizzey /><ref name=Fry /> The upper back and wings are green, and the lower back and under-tail coverts are bright blue. The undersides of the wings and primary flight feathers are rufous to copper with green edges and tipped with black, and the tail is black to deep violet.<ref name=Fry /> The rainbow bee-eater's two central tail feathers are longer than the other tail feathers, and are longer in the male rainbow bee-eaters than in the females.<ref name=Morcombe /> The crown of the head, the stomach and breast, and the throat are pale yellow-orange, and it has a black crescent-shaped gorget and a black stripe, edged with blue, extending through its bright red eye.<ref name=Morcombe /> They have small, syndactylous feet (i.e., with toes partly united).<ref name=Pizzey /> The juvenile has overall duller plumage, a greener crown, and lacks throat bands and tail streamers.<ref name=Morcombe />
==Distribution and habitat== Rainbow bee-eaters are a common species and can be found during the summer in forested areas in most of southern Australia, excluding Tasmania. They migrate north during the winter into northern Australia, New Guinea, and some of the southern islands of Indonesia.<ref name=Pizzey /><ref name=Fry /> Vagrants have been recorded on Miyako Island, Japan, and Luidao (Green Island) off south-east Taiwan.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Analysis and reconfirmation of a bee-eater specimen from Japan| author1=Ikenaga, Hiroshi | author2=Sweet, P.| author3=Hart, M.| journal= Ornithological Science|volume=8| issue=2|pages=169–171| year=2009| doi=10.2326/osj.8.169 | s2cid=84797852 | doi-access=free}}</ref>
They may be found in open woodlands, beaches, dunes, cliffs, mangroves, and farmlands, and they often visit parks and private gardens.<ref name=Pizzey>{{Cite book|title=A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia |last=Pizzey |first=Graham |author2=Knight, Frank |year=1997 |publisher=HarperCollinsPublishers |location=Sydney, Australia |isbn=0-207-18013-X |page=308}}</ref><ref name=Trusler>Trusler, P., Kloot, T., and McCulloch, E. M. (1980) ''Birds of Australian Gardens.'' Rigby, Adelaide. {{ISBN|9780727013538}}</ref>
==Behaviour== Like all bee-eaters, rainbow bee-eaters are very social birds. When they are not breeding they roost together in large groups in dense undergrowth or large trees.<ref name=Fry />
===Vocal behaviour=== The rainbow bee-eater makes a series of loud, melodious "pir-r-r" calls, characterised by rapid vibrating and high pitch, usually in flight.<ref name=Morcombe /><ref name=Pizzey /> A softer, slower call is exchanged between perching birds.<ref name=Morcombe />
===Nesting=== [[File:Rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus) Fogg Dam.jpg|left|thumb|Juvenile, at Fogg Dam, Northern Territory.]] Rainbow bee-eaters are ground-nesting birds, like all bee-eaters.<ref>Smalley,I.J.,McLaren,S. O'Hara-Dhand,K. (2016) "Loess and bee-eaters IV: distribution of the rainbowbird (Merops ornatus) in Australia." ''Quaternary International'', 399: 230–235. doi.10.1016/j.quaint.2015.02.017</ref> Breeding season is before and after the rainy season in the north, and from November to January in the south.<ref name=Morcombe>Morcombe, Michael (2012) ''Field Guide to Australian Birds''. Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. {{ISBN|978174021417-9}}</ref><ref name=Fry>Fry, H. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). "Rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus), 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. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rabeat1.01</ref> Rainbow bee-eaters are believed to mate for life. The male will bring the female insects while she digs the burrow that will be their nest. The bee-eater digs its burrow by balancing on its wings and feet, and digs with its bill, then pushing loose soil backwards with its feet while balancing on its bill. The female bee-eater can dig about 7–8 centimetres down every day. The nest tunnel is very narrow, and the birds' bodies press so tightly against the tunnel walls that when the birds enter and exit their movement acts like a piston, pumping in fresh air and pushing out stale air. Rainbow bee-eaters have also been known to share their nest tunnels with other bee-eaters and sometimes even other species of birds. The female lays between 3 and 7 rounded, translucent white eggs, measuring {{cvt|24|by|18|mm|in|abbr=on}}, which are incubated for about 21 to 24 days until hatching.<ref name=Morcombe /> The young bee-eaters fledge after 28 to 31 days and are fed by both parents, as well as by any other members of the communal group.<ref name=Morcombe /> Cane toads are known to prey on nestlings.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2004.01.025|author=Boland, C. R. J.|year=2004|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=120|issue=1|pages=53–62|title=Introduced cane toads Bufo marinus are active nest predators and competitors of Rainbow Bee-eaters Merops ornatus: observational and experimental evidence|bibcode=2004BCons.120...53B }}</ref>
===Diet=== Rainbow bee-eaters mostly eat flying insects, but, as their name implies, they have a real taste for bees.<ref name=Fry /> Rainbow bee-eaters are always watching for flying insects, and can spot a potential meal up to 45 metres away. Once it spots an insect a bee-eater will swoop down from its perch and catch it in its long, slender, black bill and fly back to its perch. Bee-eaters will then knock their prey against their perch to subdue it.<ref name=Morcombe /> Even though rainbow bee-eaters are actually immune to the stings of bees and wasps, upon capturing a bee they will rub the insect's stinger against their perch to remove it, closing their eyes to avoid being squirted with poison from the ruptured poison sac. Bee-eaters can eat several hundred bees a day, so they are obviously resented by beekeepers, but their damage is generally balanced by their role in keeping pest insects such as locusts and hornets under control.
===Roe 8 controversy=== Opponents of the Roe 8 project in Perth, Western Australia, claimed that the rainbow bee-eater migrates to the Beeliar Wetlands, which is in the pathway of the Roe Highway extension.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://savebeeliarwetlands.com/|title=Save Beeliar Wetlands|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> Following the 11 March 2017 election, the incoming Labor Government suspended this project and reclamation work by volunteers has begun.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://project.mainroads.wa.gov.au/roe8/Pages/default.aspx|title=Main Roads Dept|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref>
==Conservation status== The rainbow bee-eater is a common, migratory species with a wide distribution and stable population, which is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Rainbowbeeeater.jpg|Flying Image:Rainbow beeeater.ogv|Rainbow bee-eater sunning, early morning SE Queensland, Australia Image:Rainbow Bee-eaters Juffs.JPG|Rainbow bee-eater at Dayboro, SE Queensland, Australia File:Roe 8 path 101216 gnangarra-109.JPG|Rainbow bee-eater entering a nesting burrow in the Beeliar Wetlands </gallery>
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==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Merops ornatus}} {{Wikispecies|Merops ornatus}} *[https://ebird.org/species/rabeat1 Photos, audio and video of the rainbow bee-eater] from Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay library. *[http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=9 Photos and recordings of the rainbow bee-eater] from Graeme Chapman's archive.
{{Bee-eaters}}
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rainbow bee-eater Category:Birds of Australia rainbow bee-eater Category:Taxa named by John Latham (ornithologist) Category:Articles containing video clips