Merops variegatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The blue-breasted bee-eater (Merops variegatus) is a central African species of bird. It is a member of the family Meropidae. Meropids are all visually similar and have a diet specialized in Hymenopterans. The blue-breasted bee-eater, Merops variegatus, exhibits several physically defining characteristics of the Meropidae. It has a relatively large head, short neck, bright plumage, long curved slim sharp beak and a broad black eyestripe. M. variegatus weights between 20 and 26 g and measures between 18 and 21 cm in length. It is primarily a green bird, with a green crown, green upper parts and light greenish-yellow underparts.
Primary wings are washed with rufous and secondaries are green with black tips. Overall the wings are rounded at the tip compared to the pointed tips of the migratory species in Meropidae. The tail has twelve rectrices, the outer rectrices are washed with rufous and the center feathers are green. The tail has a subterminal black bar and is tipped with white. Furthermore, the tail has a shallow v -shape and is lacking tail-streamers present in other members of the family.
The head of the blue-breasted bee-eater can be distinguished from other... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 4 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-breasted Bee-eater sighting in Kafue National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 318th most-seen of the 338 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-breasted Bee-eater in Kafue National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months. That is one of Kafue National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 290 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-breasted 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.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Blue-breasted Bee-eater sightings, Kafue National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 30%), Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, under 5%) and Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo, under 5%).
Same genus: Merops
The closest relatives of the Blue-breasted Bee-eater that you can see in Kafue National Park (genus Merops, Typical Bee-eaters) are White-fronted Bee-eater (about 40%), Little Bee-eater (about 40%) and European Bee-eater (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-breasted Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Kafue National Park (6 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.
