蓝颊蜂虎种

形态特征

蓝颊蜂虎体长30cm左右。指名亚种头部蓝色脸颊被黑色贯眼纹分开而形成蓝色眉纹和下颊。前额为白色，颏呈鲜黄色，喉部为黄褐色。头顶、上背和胸腹草绿色，两翼和尾黄绿色。

亚种

蓝颊蜂虎分为2个亚种：

Merops persicus chrysocercus Cabanis & Heine, 1860：身体大部分呈淡橄榄色，主要部分在撒哈拉沙漠西部边界，从摩洛哥到阿尔及利亚和塞内加尔、乍得，冬天到撒哈拉以南非洲；

Merops persicus persicus Pallas, 1773：指名亚种，主要分布在北非和西亚、中亚等地区，2014年曾在中国新疆阿尔金山地区发现。

The blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus) is a species of bee-eater that breeds in Northern Africa and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations are resident year-round in the Sahel. This species occurs as a rare vagrant north of its breeding range, with most vagrants occurring in Italy and Greece.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and persicus is Latin for "Persian".

Two subspecies of blue-cheeked bee-eater are accepted:

Merops persicus persicus - Breeds in Asia, winters in East and Southern Africa.

Merops persicus chrysocercus - Breeds in North Africa, winters in West Africa.

This species is closely related to the blue-tailed bee-eater, M. philippinus of East Asia, and the olive bee-eater of Africa, and has been treated as being the same species (conspecific).

Description

This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green; its face has blue sides with a black eye stripe, and a yellow and brown throat; the beak is black. It can reach a length of 31 cm (12 in), with the two elongated central tail feathers adding another 7 cm (2.8 in). Sexes are mostly alike but the tail-streamers of the female are shorter.

This is a bird which breeds in sub-tropical semi-desert with a few trees, such as acacia. It winters in open woodland or grassland. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes more dragonflies than any other food item. It also enjoys damselflies and lacewings. Its preferred hunting perch is telephone wires if available.

Blue-cheeked bee-eaters may nest solitarily or in loose colonies of up to ten birds. They may also nest in colonies with European bee-eaters. The nests are located in sandy banks, embankments, low cliffs or on the shore of the Caspian Sea. They make a relatively long tunnel of 1 to 3 m (3–10 ft) in length in which the four to eight (usually six or seven), spherical white eggs are laid. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, although the female alone incubates them at night. Incubation takes 23–26 days.

The call sounds 'flatter' and less 'fluty' than the European bee-eater.