European Bee-eater

• It catches bees and wasps in flight, and has techniques for removing the sting before swallowing them.
• It breeds cooperatively, a behaviour that is uncommon among birds.
• It winters in sub-Saharan Africa.
• alimentaciónIt rubs the bees and wasps it catches against a branch to work the venom out of the sting before swallowing them whole.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Open country with broken ground and river banks across southern Europe, North Africa and western Asia; it winters in sub-Saharan Africa

Birth weight

Weight at hatching not found as a precise figure

Size at birth

Born blind and naked

Sexual maturity

1 year

Gestation / incubation

19-28 days (usual reference 19-20 days)

Litter / clutch size

2 to 10 eggs per clutch (most commonly 4-7)

Sources consulted: A-Z Animals; Wildlife Vagabond; Birds of the World; Birds Discovery; The Animal Facts; Animal Diversity Web; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Birdfact

Best time: From April to September in the Iberian Peninsula; it is a trans-Saharan migrant and is easily located by its liquid call in flight.