Aptly named, these birds fearlessly pluck bees (and other flying insects) out of the air with their strong, downward curved beak, smack the victim’s head on a branch to stun it, rub its rump on a surface to remove the stinger and flush out the toxins, and chow down. Find out more!

The white-fronted bee-eater is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. It has olive colored upper parts, a white forehead and chin, and a red throat. Its tail is square.

The white-throated bee-eater, also found in Africa, has pale green upper parts, a black-and-white striped head, white throat (hence the name), black upper breast band, red eye, and a black bill. You can tell them apart at a glance: the white-fronted has red throat, while the white-throated has a white throat!

White-throated bee-eaters breed in a narrow band of sub-desert steppe along the southern edge of the Sahara, and then migrate south to humid tropical rain forests of west and central Africa for the non-breeding season. The rather open habitats provide more insect foraging opportunities.

Bee-eaters are insectivorous. Their diet is made up primarily of bees, but they also take other flying insects, depending on the season and availability of prey. Two hunting methods have been observed. They either make quick hawking flights from lower branches of shrubs and trees, or glide slowly down from their perch and hover briefly to catch insects.