Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus) [XC137506]
by Louis A. Hansen from Draa valley, Morocco (call)
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus) [XC881548]
by Rory Nefdt from Meru National Park, Meru County, Kenya (call)
Nest
In a tunnel of a sandy bank, embankment, low cliff.
Eggs (Guide)
Clutch Size: 4 - 8, usually 6 or 7
Color: white
Dimensions: (spherical)
Incubation: by both sexes
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Olive Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus) and Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus), and the three taxa have often been regarded as conspecific. However, this species shows striking plumage differences from Olive Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus), and breeds sympatrically with Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) in northern Pakistan and India. In some regards, those two species are more similar to each other than either is to present species.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
chrysocercus Cabanis & Heine, 1860 - Borders of western Sahara, from Morocco to Algeria and from Senegal patchily to L Chad. Winters in sub-Saharan western Africa.
persicus Pallas, 1773 - Egypt (Nile Delta), northern Israel (irregular) and south-eastern Turkey, south to Persian Gulf, and east to northern shores of Caspian and Aral Seas, southern shores of L Balkhash, northern Afghanistan (Hindu Kush) and northern and western India (Delhi and Gujarat). Winters mainly in eastern tropical Africa.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet