📸 PhotoPhoto: Петро Катеринич · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster (European Bee-eater · ヨーロッパハチクイ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of 30 cm is almost equal to the long edge of an A4 sheet (29.7 cm), and its weight of 78 g is just over a single chicken egg (about 60 g).
- 💡 It frequently visits agricultural fields where beehives are kept for crop pollination, and its vivid colors attract birders and photographers.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
As its name implies, the European Bee-eater is a migratory bird that preys on bees and other flying insects, often nesting in colonies on its breeding grounds.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its dark, thick bill curves slightly downward, its chin and throat are bright yellow, its chest is blue, and its crown is dark chestnut. Most of the tail is blue.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It flies out from a perch to catch insects such as bees and dragonflies, returns to beat them against the perch until stunned, removes the stinger from stinging insects, and tosses them up to swallow. It digs burrows in steep earthen riverbanks or gravel pits to breed, and about 20% of pairs raise young with 1–4 helpers.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2024) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22683756/264578444
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 264578444
- • wikidata.org — Q170718
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Бджолоїдка звичайна або щурка європейська.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Merops apiaster
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.