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N. amictus |
Nyctyornis is a genus of the bee-eaters, near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. There are just two members of this group, which occur in tropical south and southeatern Asia.
- Red-bearded Bee-eater, Nyctyornis amictus
- Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Nyctyornis athertoni
Together with the Purple-bearded Bee-eater, Meropogon forsteni, they form the bearded bee-eater subfamily Nyctyornithinae, which was raised by Charles Sibley in later versions of his computerised world list to family level as Nyctyornithidae.citation needed All other bee-eaters belong to the subfamily Meropinae and genus Merops.
Like other bee-eaters, Nyctyornis species are colourful birds with long tails, long downturned bills and pointed wings. They are large bee-eaters (Blue-bearded is the largest of all bee-eaters), predominantly green, with a face colour as indicated by the species' name. This colour extends on to the slightly hanging throat feathers to form the “beard”.
Like other bee-eaters, they predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air, but they have a quite different strategy. They hunt alone or in pairs, rather than in flocks, and sit motionless for long periods before pursuing their prey. Blue-bearded will also clamber in foliage for insects, and bees are sometimes attract by the bright blue beard of a perched bird, presumably mistaking it for a flower.
Their size and more rounded wings gives Nyctyornis species a heavier flapping flight less graceful than that of the 'Merops genus
Like other bee-eaters, they nest in burrows tunneled into the side of sandy banks, but do not form colonies.
References
- C H Fry & Kathie Fry; illustrated by Alan Harris (2000). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691048797.
