Nyctyornis
| Nyctyornis | |
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| Blue-bearded bee-eater | |
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Nyctyornis
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| Species | |
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N. amictus |
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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 southeastern Asia.
- Red-bearded bee-eater, Nyctyornis amictus
- Blue-bearded bee-eater, Nyctyornis athertoni
The genus is basal and forms a sister group to the remaining members of the bee-eater family.[1]
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 attracted 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
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- ↑ Marks, BD; J.D. Weckstein, R.G. Moyle, 2007. Molecular phylogenetics of the bee-aters (Aves: Meropidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 45(1):23-32.
