Blue-throated Bee-eater: 1. Courtship and mating
Posted by BESG on 5 July 09, Sunday
Contributed by Micky Lim, Jason Cho, YY Chong & Dr JWK Cheah
Micky Lim was observing four pairs of Blue-Throated Bee-Eater (Merops viridis) at an abandoned field. The nest was an excavated burrow around ground level (left). The male bee-eaters were actively hunting for food, catching dragonflies and butterflies. The females were perching patiently nearby, waiting for the males to arrive with their courtship offerings (below).
Once the offered gift was accepted, copulation took place (bottom). The male mounted the female, flapping his wings for balance while the female hung tightly on to the perch so as not to be displaced. As usual, this act was completed in a flash, 13 seconds, as reported by YY Chong.
Images: burrow by Dr. JWK Cheah, courtship feeding by Micky Lim, copulation by YY Chong.
This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.
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Categories: Bee-eaters, Courtship-Mating, Nesting
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-Throated Bee-Eater: 2. Nest excavation
Made Wednesday, 8 of July , 2009 at 6:21 pm
[...] courtship and mating of this group of Blue-Throated Bee-Eaters (Merops viridis) have been posted earlier. This post by Micky Lim a.k.a. limmick documents nest [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 3. Feeding the chicks
Made Friday, 10 of July , 2009 at 12:03 am
[...] Part 1 on courtship and mating and Part 2 on nest excavation have already been posted earlier. The current post on the continuing saga of the Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis), documented by Dr JWK Cheah, is on how the chicks were fed. [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 4. Flight sequence
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[...] Part 1 on courtship and mating; Part 2 on nest excavation and Part 3 on feeding the chicks have already been posted earlier. The current post on the continuing saga of the Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis), documented by Jason Cho, shows the flight sequence in slow motion, giving details of the flight action as the bird flies in from its perch to its nest in the ground to deliver food to the chicks. [...]
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Made Tuesday, 14 of July , 2009 at 12:00 am
[...] Part 1 on courtship and mating; Part 2 on nest excavation; Part 3 on feeding the chicks and Part 4 on flight sequence have been posted earlier. The current post on the continuing saga of the Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis) is documented by Micky Lim a.k.a. limmick . [...]
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Made Friday, 17 of July , 2009 at 12:00 am
[...] (Merops viridis) saga is reported by Micky Lim a.k.a. limmick. Check out the earlier parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 and [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 7. Excavating the nest chamber
Made Sunday, 19 of July , 2009 at 12:14 am
[...] out the earlier parts of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) saga: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 8. Excavating two further nests
Made Wednesday, 22 of July , 2009 at 7:25 am
[...] out the earlier parts of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) saga: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 9. Release
Made Friday, 24 of July , 2009 at 11:04 am
[...] out the earlier parts of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) saga: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 10. The chicks
Made Monday, 27 of July , 2009 at 12:26 am
[...] out the earlier parts of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) saga: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and [...]
Pingback by Bird Ecology Study Group » Blue-throated Bee-eater: 11. Reflection
Made Wednesday, 29 of July , 2009 at 12:09 am
[...] out the earlier parts of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) saga: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and [...]
