Merops pusillus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis). Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns. They inhabit various biomes, such as savanna, bushveld, and even marsh-like areas.
Members of this species, like other bee-eaters, are rich and brightly coloured slender birds. They have green upper parts, yellow throats, black gorgets, and rich brown upper breasts fading to buffish ochre on the belly. Their wings are green and brown. Their beaks and legs are black. Tail is square in shape with a slight fork or v-shape at the end. They reach a length of 15–17 cm, which makes them the smallest African bee-eater. Sexes are alike. Often silent, their call is a soft "seep". They are often hard to spot since their green backs and wings act as camouflage.
These are abundant and tame birds, familiar throughout their range. There have been estimated to be between 60 and 80 million little bee-eaters. They breed in open country with bushes, preferably near water. Just as the name... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | |
| 4 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 6 | N'Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad | |
| 7 | Luanda | 🇦🇴 Angola | |
| 8 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 9 | Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | |
| 10 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Little Bee-eater sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 183 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 42nd most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and March
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Little Bee-eater in Durban on a given day, against about 10% in April–May and August–November, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Bee-eater sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 21
Of the 21 cities where we can rate Little Bee-eater sightings, Durban ranks 10th at about 20%. The best odds are in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo, about 60%), Dar es-Salaam (Tanzania, about 50%) and Yaoundé (Cameroon, about 50%).
Same order: Coraciiformes
The closest relatives of the Little Bee-eater that you can see in Durban (order Coraciiformes, Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies) are Brown-hooded Kingfisher (about 50%), Pied Kingfisher (about 10%) and Malachite Kingfisher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (183 verified sightings), 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.
