Merops albicollis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The white-throated bee-eater (Merops albicollis) is a species of bee-eater that breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara. The white-throated bee-eater is migratory, wintering in a completely different habitat in the equatorial rain forests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda.
This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is predominantly green, but its face and throat are white with a black crown, eye stripe, and neckband. The underparts are pale green shading to blue on the breast. The eye is red and the beak is black.
The white-throated bee-eater can reach a length of 19–21 cm, excluding the two very elongated central tail feathers, which can exceed an additional length of 12 cm. They weigh between 20 and 28 grams. Sexes are alike, except that the male has longer tail feathers. The call is similar to European bee-eater.
White-throated bee-eaters also feed and roost communally. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. However, this species probably takes mainly flying ants and beetles...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Kakum National Park | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 4 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Chinko Conservation Area | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | |
| 9 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 11 | Mole National Park | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 12 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 13 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 15 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 17 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 18 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 19 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Whitethroated Bee-eater sighting in Mole National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 216th most-seen of the 266 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Whitethroated Bee-eater in Mole National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, August–September and December–April, the lowest months. July has too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Whitethroated Bee-eater sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Whitethroated Bee-eater sightings, Mole National Park ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 60%), Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 50%) and Kakum National Park (Ghana, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Merops
The closest relatives of the Whitethroated Bee-eater that you can see in Mole National Park (genus Merops, Typical Bee-eaters) are Red-throated Bee-eater (about 80%), Northern Carmine Bee-eater (about 10%) and Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Whitethroated Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Mole National Park (18 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.
