Habits: Like all bee eaters, rainbow bee eaters are very social birds. When not breeding, they roost together at night in dense undergrowth or large trees. The roosts are often so crowded that the birds touch each other as they perch. The birds sometimes perch together with their backs to the sun and the feathers on their upper backs raised. They fly down to the ground occasionally to clean their feathers with dust, which also gets rid of parasites. Many of the birds die during their summer migration.
Breeding: Soon after the birds reach their breeding grounds, they pair – possibly for life. The birds raise their crown feathers and lower and vibrate their tail feathers. The males bring the females insects. The birds then mate and dig their nest burrows. After the female lays her eggs, both she and the hatchlings are vulnerable to predators such as large Australian monitor lizards called goannas, wild dogs, and foxes.
Once the young fledge (grow feathers), they are reared by both parents, as well as by other young bee eaters. Until the young birds are fully grown, they help raise their parents’ or another pairs next brood. Other birds that are non breeders or have lost a mate also help to raise other pairs’ broods.
Food and Feeding: The rainbow bee eater perches on power lines or branches of dead trees to search for food. It is always alert for flying insects and can spot a bee from 150 feet away. The bird immediately flies after it and almost always catches its prey. Once the bee eater catches a bee it usually removes the stinger even though the bird is immune to bee and wasp stings, which kill other small birds. Bee eaters eat several hundred bees and wasps a day. They cough up the indigestible portions in the form of pellets. When a flock of bee eaters spots a large swarm of small termites, it attacks the swarm and eats as many insects as possible in a short time.
Bee Eater and Man: Beekeepers have traditionally feared the arrival of the bee eaters, which eat the cultivated bees. Hives are especially vulnerable to attack when the weather is cool, since there are not as many insects flying about for hungry bee eaters to prey on. But the damage bee eaters do to hives is generally outweighed by their control of harmful insects such as locusts, as well as the wasps and hornets that are themselves honeybee predators.
Key Facts: Sizes, Breeding, Lifestyle, and
Related Species:
Sizes:
Length: 7-8 in. Central tail feathers
extend ¾ in. beyond male’s body, 3 in beyond females
Wingspan: Approximately 10 in.
Breeding:
Sexual maturity: 1 year
Mating: Before and after rainy season
in northern part of range; November to January in south
Eggs: 3-7, usually 4-5. Glossy white
Incubation: Approximately 24 days
Fledging: 30 days
Lifestyle:
Habit: Very social. Pair for life
Diet: Mainly bees and wasps. Also ichneumon
flies, dragonflies, damselflies, moths, butterflies, and grasshoppers
Related Species: There are 22 other species
of bee eater found throughout the warmer parts of the eastern hemisphere.
Distribution: Found in summer in most
of southern Australia, including Tasmania, but not in forest areas. Winters
in northern Australia, some Indonesian islands, and New Guinea.
Conservation: The rainbow bee eater is
common in most parts of its range. Its habitat has increased as a result
of deforestation, which has deprived many other birds of their habitat.
How The Rainbow Bee Eater Digs Its Burrow: The rainbow bee eater uses its strong, sharp bill to dig its burrow. It pushes the loose soil backward, away from the burrow with its leg, while supporting itself with its beak and wing bones. The birds generally dig three inches a day; the female does most of the work.
Did You Know:
The rainbow bee eater is also known as the rainbow
bird, pin tailed bee eater, spine tail, berrin-berrin, gold digger, and
gold miner. Sometimes it is called a kingfisher, but the two species are
not related.
When adult rainbow bee eaters enter or exit their
nest burrows, their bodies fit so tightly into the narrow tunnel that they
act like a piston, pumping in fresh air and pumping out stale air.
A nest burrow found in southern Australia contained
two adult and four nestling rainbow bee eaters, along with 18 young white
backed swallows, all roosting together.
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