Blue-bearded bee-eater
| Blue-bearded bee-eater | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Meropidae |
| Genus: | Nyctyornis |
| Species: | N. athertoni |
| Binomial name | |
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Nyctyornis athertoni (Jardine & Selby, 1830) |
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| Distribution of the Nyctyornis athertoni | |
| Synonyms | |
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Merops athertoni |
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Merops athertoni
Alcemerops athertoni
The blue-bearded bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni) is a large species of bee-eater found in much of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. This species is found in forest clearings. It is found in the Malayan region and also extends into the Western Ghats in southwestern India. The blue feathers of its throat are elongated and often fluffed giving it its name. They are not as gregarious or active as the smaller bee-eaters, and their square ended tail lacks the typical "wires" made up of the shafts of the longer central tail feathers in many species.
This large bee-eater has a large sickle shaped bill and the square ended tail lacks the "wires" that are typical of smaller bee-eaters. The bird is grass green with a turquoise forehead, face and chin. The feathers of the throat are elongated giving it a bearded appearance when they are fluffed out. The belly is yellowish to olive with streaks of green or blue. The peninsular Indian populations are said to be paler green than the northeast Indian populations. Although males and females appear similar, the blue throat feathers of the male show higher ultraviolet reflectivity than those of the female.
The species is named after Lieut. John Atherton (13th Light Dragoons, died in 1827) a nephew of Mrs. P. J. Selby who obtained a specimen of the bird. Selby described the species in "Illustrations of Ornithology" published along with Sir William Jardine in 1828. Jardine and Selby described it in the Illustrations of Ornithology (Series 1, Volume 2 part 4, November 1828, plate 58) and the type locality (holotype is in the Selby Collection, UMZC, 25/Mer/7/b/2) was said to be Cachar District Assam by E. C. Stuart Baker but Sir N B Kinnear re-designated Bangalore as the type locality for the species based on the fact that Atherton was posted in Bangalore when he wrote to Selby and noted that he was helped by a French collector (thought to be Leschenault). However the species is rare in that region.
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Wikipedia