Merops gularis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The black bee-eater (Merops gularis) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is native to the African tropical rainforest where it is found at the edges of the rainforest and in secondary woodland. The black bee-eater grows to a length of about 20 cm (8 in). It is a predominantly black bird, with a scarlet chin and throat, a streaked breast, a pale blue eyebrow, blue belly, undertail-coverts and rump, and rufous primaries.
It is native to the intra-tropical rainforest of Sub-Saharan Africa. There are two subspecies: M. g. gularis, which is found from Sierra Leone to southeast Nigeria. It has the forehead blue, and a distinct bright cobalt-blue superciliary stripe. Some southeast Nigerian and west Cameroon birds are intermediate between this and M. g. australis, which is found from southeast Nigeria to northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo, south to northern Angola. This sub-species has no superciliary stripe; forehead black, sometimes with a few blue feathers; the light azure-blue streaks on breast and even the belly are sometimes scarlet-tipped. Wing slightly longer than the nominate subspecies.
The black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 3 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Bee-eater sighting in Queen Elizabeth National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 328th most-seen of the 434 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Bee-eater in Queen Elizabeth National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black 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 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Black Bee-eater sightings, Queen Elizabeth National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 20%), Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 20%) and Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 20%).
Same genus: Merops
The closest relatives of the Black Bee-eater that you can see in Queen Elizabeth National Park (genus Merops, Typical Bee-eaters) are Madagascar Bee-eater (about 30%), Little Bee-eater (about 30%) and Whitethroated Bee-eater (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Queen Elizabeth National Park (20 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.
