Olive Bee-eater
Merops superciliosus
Large green bee-eater with a rufous throat patch. Found in almost any open habitat, including savannah, cultivation, scrub, and grassland. Often perches up conspicuously, singly or in small groups. Feeds on insects on the wing, and often seen in flight, sometimes in loose flocks. Incessantly gives a soft rolling “krrrio” call, especially in flight. Similar in shape and size to European and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. Has a very different color scheme from European Bee-eater, and a subtly different one from Blue-cheeked: green underparts, bright white stripes on the cheek, and a brownish crown.
识别特征
The olive bee-eater grows to a length of 23 to 26 cm (9.1 to 10.2 in) with its tail streamers adding up to 7 cm (2.8 in). The sexes are similar, and adults have bronzy-green plumage with an olive cap and white forehead, eyebrows, chin and cheeks. The rump and tail are blue, apart from the streamers, which are black.
分类信息
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the olive bee-eater in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected on the island of Madagascar. He used the French name Le guespier de Madagascar and the Latin Apiaster Madagascariensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the olive bee-eater. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the current binomial name Merops superciliosus and cited Brisson's work. The specific name superciliosus is Latin for "supercilious", "haughty" or "eye-browed".<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- 学名
- Merops superciliosus
- 命名信息
- Linnaeus, 1766
- 目
- Coraciiformes
- 科
- Meropidae
- 属
- Merops
分布与栖息地
The olive bee-eater is found in the grassland and coastal mountain forests of East Africa and Madagascar, and an isolated population can be found in coastal Angola. There are two subspecies; M. s. superciliosus occurs in eastern Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, and southwards through East Africa to southern Mozambique and the Zambezi Valley, as well as the Comoro Islands and Madagascar; M. s. alternans occurs in western Angola and northwestern Namibia.
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
They are partially migratory, and usually breed only in the southern portion of their range, moving north for the dry season in southern Africa. It lays four eggs in a burrow nest at the beginning of the southern African wet season, and the chicks usually hatch at the beginning of December. Unlike most bee-eaters, the species does not practice cooperative breeding and post-fledging dependence is only around 19 days, which is typical of temperate zone passerines and about half that of most Meropidae species.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Pallas's Bunting
Emberiza pallasi
Very similar to Reed Bunting, but smaller and more slender; also note finer bill, colder pale buffy-brown (instead of rufous) wing coverts, and less extensive streaking on the underparts. Breeding male has a black hood and bright white “moustache” stripe. Female and non-breeding birds are pale sandy brown with a pale but noticeable white “moustache.” Breeds in thickets and vegetation clusters in tundra and winters in reedbeds and tall grassy or brushy areas near water, where often associated with mixed-species flocks. Song is a series of wet buzzy “tsli” notes. “Chlip” calls distinctly sparrow-like.
Laughing Kookaburra
Dacelo novaeguineae
Common, very large kingfisher with a dark eye and brown cheek patch. In Queensland take care to identify from Blue-winged Kookaburra, which has a pale eye and a pale streaked head. Typical calls include an immediately recognizable and distinctive laugh, which gives the species its common name. Abundant in parks, towns, forests, and campgrounds.
Pygmy Swiftlet
Collocalia troglodytes
A tiny, common swiftlet found over lowland forest. Gray below with a paler belly, a darker throat, and dark patches on the underside of the base of the forewing. Black above with a distinctive white band on the rump. Tail square, and dark under the base. Nests in caves, where it uses echolocation. Similar to Gray-rumped Swiftlet, but Pygmy is slightly smaller, with a cleaner white rump band. Gives grating calls in flight.
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