Merops orientalis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Asian green bee-eater (Merops orientalis), also known as the little green bee-eater, and just green bee-eater, is a bird species in the bee-eater family. It is resident or with short-distance seasonal movements, and is found widely distributed across Asia from coastal southern Iran east through the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam. Populations in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that were formerly assigned to this species (under the name green bee-eater) are now considered to be distinct species, the African green bee-eater and the Arabian green bee-eater. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named.
The Asian green bee-eater was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 using its current binomial name. Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park Delhi | 🇮🇳 India |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Green Bee-eater sighting in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, based on 507 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 169 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Green Bee-eater in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, against about 70% in October, the lowest month. That is one of Wilpattu National Park's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain against 320 mm in November.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Asian Green Bee-eater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 27
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Asian Green Bee-eater sightings, Wilpattu National Park ranks 3rd at about 80%. The best odds are in Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 90%) and Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 80%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Merops
The closest relatives of the Asian Green Bee-eater that you can see in Wilpattu National Park (genus Merops, Typical Bee-eaters) are Blue-tailed Bee-eater (about 50%) and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Asian Green Bee-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Wilpattu National Park (507 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.
