Merops albicollis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
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... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 4 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 9 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 16 | 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 Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 320th most-seen of the 380 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises 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 Whitethroated Bee-eater in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
10th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Whitethroated Bee-eater sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 60%), Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 50%) and Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Merops
The closest relatives of the Whitethroated Bee-eater that you can see in Tsavo West National Park (genus Merops, Typical Bee-eaters) are Little Bee-eater (about 30%), Madagascar Bee-eater (about 10%) and European 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 Tsavo West National Park (13 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.
