Happy Autumn lovely people (if you are in the southern hemisphere that is!). Crazy weather still, so I hope everyone is safe and sound.
This month on your calendar your bird models are two Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus). I know we have had Rainbow Bee-eaters (RBEs) before in a previous calendar, but these ones represent the first time I was able to photograph two RBEs sitting nicely together outside the confines of my backyard! They were quite far away so this photo is one of many attempts to get at least one in focus.
These two were at a spot I like to go to at the local lake where at the right time of year, you can stand amidst a whole group of RBEs doing aerial acrobatics and calling like little colourful mobile phones (prr-prr). They are spectacular in flight and standing underneath them when the sun hits their feathers it seems as if they glint like shiny copper triangles.
Although male and female RBEs look similar, males have longer, slimmer tail streamers than females. Juvenile RBEs also do not have long tail streamers, and they lack the black band that adults have on their chest. In your March calendar photo, it seems like we have a juvenile RBE at the front and a female at the back. Would you agree?
RBEs belong to the family Meropidae, and the genus Merops of which there are 27 species in addition to the rainbow bee-eater (so 28 in total)! It is amazing to look at all the colour variations of these species which span across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. The RBE is the only species native Australia.
I hope you enjoy gazing at these beautiful birds this month on your calendar, and your March is a good one.