Merops viridis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis) is a species of bird in the bee-eater family. It is found in much of southeast Asia, in subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Their diet consists mostly of bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Blue-throated bee-eater is a medium-large species of bee-eater with brightly coloured plumage consisting of a red-brown nape, dark green wings, light green breast, and their signature blue throat. The juvenile plumage has a dark green head and wings and light green breast, only developing their full plumage in adulthood. They have a rich variety of songs and calls, including long calls which allow them to communicate long distances in the forest.
The conservation status of the blue-throated bee-eaters is of "least concern" due to their large distribution and stability of its population as of 2024. However, deforestation may be its biggest threat, destroying its habitat and decreasing bird diversity generally.
The blue-throated bee-eater was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Merops viridis. The type locality is the Indonesian island... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 11 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Kuching | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Johor Bahru | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-throated Bee-eater sighting in Bako National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 26th most-seen of the 70 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-throated Bee-eater in Bako National Park on a given day, against about 10% in September and October, the lowest months. November and December have too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-throated Bee-eater sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
5th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Blue-throated Bee-eater sightings, Bako National Park ranks 5th at about 30%. The best odds are in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (Malaysia, about 60%), Sepilok (Malaysia, about 50%) and Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Coraciiformes
The closest relatives of the Blue-throated Bee-eater that you can see in Bako National Park (order Coraciiformes, Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies) are Collared Kingfisher (about 50%), Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (about 10%) and Stork-billed Kingfisher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-throated Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Bako National Park (28 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
