Blue-throated Bee-eater

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Merops viridis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Danum Valley Conservation Area

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

337 Verified sightings at Danum Valley Conservation Area From 2019 to 2026
3,879 In all 11 parks
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Blue-throated Bee-eater

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 →

Sounds

Call0:41

Philippines · 2026

© Kelle Moreau · XC1163234 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:26

Malaysia · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1077548 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:57

Philippines · 2024

© Greg Irving · XC897387 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~60%
2 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~50%
3 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
4 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
5 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
6 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
7 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
8 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
9 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
10 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
11 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
2 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
~30%
3 Kuching 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
4 Johor Bahru 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
5 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
6 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-throated Bee-eater in Danum Valley Conservation Area?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-throated Bee-eater sighting in Danum Valley Conservation Area on a given day, based on 337 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 70th most-seen of the 258 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue-throated Bee-eater in Danum Valley Conservation Area?

May

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-throated Bee-eater in Danum Valley Conservation Area on a given day, against about 10% in July–August and October–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Blue-throated Bee-eater?

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.

Is Danum Valley Conservation Area the best place to see a Blue-throated Bee-eater?

7th of 11

Of the 11 parks where we can rate Blue-throated Bee-eater sightings, Danum Valley Conservation Area ranks 7th at about 20%. 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.

Where does the Blue-throated Bee-eater sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-throated Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Danum Valley Conservation Area (337 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.

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