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Merops (genus)
''Merops'' is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of birds in the family (biology), family Meropidae, native to Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. The members of this family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air. All bee-eaters are in the genus ''Merops'' and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asiatic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae (in genera ''Nyctyornis'' and ''Meropogon''). The genus ''Merops'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The Type species#Use in zoology, type species is the European bee-eater. The genus name is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater". Taxonomy and systematics Twenty-eight species are recognized: Former species Formerly, some authorities also considered the following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin; his name is rendered in Latin as and, after his 1761 ennoblement, as . Linnaeus was the son of a curate and was born in Råshult, in the countryside of Småland, southern Sweden. He received most of his higher education at Uppsala University and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published the first edition of his ' in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Pusillus
The little bee-eater (''Merops pusillus'') is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater (''Merops orientalis''). Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns. Description Members of this species, like other bee-eaters, are rich and brightly coloured slender birds. They have green upper parts, yellow throats, black gorgets, and rich brown upper breasts fading to buffish ochre on the belly. Their wings are green and brown. Their beaks and legs are black. They reach a length of 15–17 cm, which makes them the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep". Ecology These are abundant and tame birds, familiar throughout their range. There have been estimated to be between 60 and 80 million little bee-eaters. They breed in open country with bushes, preferably near water. Just as the name suggests, bee- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Breweri
The black-headed bee-eater (''Merops breweri'') is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in forests in tropical Central and West Africa, its range including Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Sudan. Description The adult black-headed bee-eater is between in length, excluding the tail streamers. The sexes are similar and it is a distinctive bird with a black head, green back, wings and tail, and buff breast and belly, with a rufous band across the lower breast. The juvenile has a black chin and throat. The only other bee-eaters living in forests within its range are the black bee-eater (''Merops gularis'') and the blue-headed bee-eater (''Merops muelleri''), and these have different colourings and are considerably smaller. The black-headed bee-eater is a bold bird and easy to approach, when the red eye can be seen. In flight, the tail shows green feathers at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Albicollis
The white-throated bee-eater (''Merops albicollis'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara, Africa. The white-throated bee-eater is migratory, wintering in a completely different habitat in the equatorial rain forests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda. Description This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, but its face and throat are white with a black crown, eye stripe, and neckband. The underparts are pale green shading to blue on the breast. The eye is red and the beak is black. The white-throated bee-eater can reach a length of 19–21 cm, excluding the two very elongated central tail feathers, which can exceed an additional length of 12 cm. They weigh between 20 and 28 grams. Sexes are alike, except that the male has longer tail feathers. The call is similar to European bee-eater. Habits White-throated bee-eaters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Malimbicus
The rosy bee-eater (''Merops malimbicus'') is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo. Taxonomy English naturalist George Shaw first described the rosy bee-eater in 1806 as ''Merops malimbicus''. This type of locality being from Malimbe, Cabinda in Angola. Molecular studies suggest that this species is most closely related to the white-throated bee-eater (''Merops albicollis'') and the northern carmine bee-eater (''M. nubicus''). Description The adult is a distinctively colored bird that grows to a length of with tail-streamers adding to this, and weighing about . Both sexes have similar features. The forehead and crown are dark grey, the mask black and the chin and cheek are white. The mantle is black, the wings and back are slate-grey and the rump paler grey. The tail is carmine, gradually bleaching to gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops Nubicus
The northern carmine bee-eater (''Merops nubicus'') is a brightly-coloured bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is found across northern tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the southern carmine bee-eater which has a carmine coloured throat rather than the blue throat of the northern species. Taxonomy The northern carmine bee-eater was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other bee-eaters in the genus ''Merops'' and coined the binomial name ''Merops nubicus''. Gmelin based his description on "Le guépier rouge à tête bleu" or "Guépier de Nubie" that had been described and illustrated in 1779 by French polymath Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume book ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux''. Buffon had been provided with a picture drawn by the Scottish trave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
