Blue-throated Bee-eater

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Merops viridis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Tanjung Puting National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

27 Verified sightings at Tanjung Puting National Park From 2019 to 2026
3,879 In all 11 parks
July 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 Tanjung Puting National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-throated Bee-eater sighting in Tanjung Puting National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 66 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue-throated Bee-eater in Tanjung Puting National Park?

June and July

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-throated Bee-eater in Tanjung Puting National Park on a given day, against about 20% in August–September and November–February, the lowest months. April has too few records to rate.

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.

Which relatives of the Blue-throated Bee-eater live in Tanjung Puting National Park?

Same order: Coraciiformes

The closest relatives of the Blue-throated Bee-eater that you can see in Tanjung Puting National Park (order Coraciiformes, Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies) are Stork-billed Kingfisher (about 80%), Blue-eared Kingfisher (about 60%) and White-throated Kingfisher (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

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 Tanjung Puting National Park (27 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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