Merops variegatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 228th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March, May, July and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-breasted Bee-eater in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April, June, August–October and December, the lowest months.
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.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Blue-breasted Bee-eater sightings, Murchison Falls National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 30%).
Same genus: Merops
The closest relatives of the Blue-breasted Bee-eater that you can see in Murchison Falls National Park (genus Merops, Typical Bee-eaters) are Red-throated Bee-eater (about 60%), Northern Carmine Bee-eater (about 40%) and Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (about 30%), 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 Murchison Falls National Park (42 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.
