Appearance
The feathers on the back of a typical Ethiopian bee-eater are green, with a russet undercarriage, a yellow throat, and a dark blue band around their crown, eyes, and across their breast. In flight, a black stripe and additional russet feathers can be viewed beneath their back and along the underside of their wings. From above, the Ethiopian bee-eater’s wing feathers appear tawny near the inside and azure blue moving closer to the outside, with a black stripe along the back of their wings.Behavior
Ethiopian bee-eaters behave much like other species in the "Meropidae" family in that they are both gregarious and diurnal birds. They are often observed gathering into large flocks, establishing territories roughly 2 kilometers from their flock’s designated feeding sites during mating season. In these areas of brooding and nesting, bee-eaters use the safety of these locations to socialize with other nests and preen, exposing their feathers to sunlight and using dust baths to prevent ectoparasitic infestations.Habitat
The Ethiopian bee-eater is a rainforest bird usually found solitarily. It perches on a high branch in the canopy beside tracks and clearings and swoops down on small butterflies, honeybees, and other insects before returning to its original perch.Food
Ethiopian bee-eaters are an insectivorous species, and their diet largely consists of flying bugs such as butterflies, dragonflies, moths, large beetles, and bees. Ethiopian bee-eaters primarily utilize two hunting methods. They either dart swiftly between the shrubs and low branches of trees to seize insects, or descend at a slow, even pace from their roost, hovering in the air momentarily before snatching their prey. After ensnaring their impending meal, they return to their perch, secure the prey at the forefront of their beaks, and repeatedly strike their heads against a branch to ensure its demise before consumption.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
