Scientific Name:
Merops nubicus
Distribution
Senegal E to Eritrea, S to N Kenya and S Somalia.
Diet:
Insectivore. Grasshoppers, honeybees, wasps, bugs, butterflies, flying ants, dragonflies.
Facts
Habitat: Savannas, wetlands.
Incubation: ~21 days / 2-5 eggs
Social structure: Huge breeding colonies of up to 1.000 nests
Weight: max. 60gr
Dimensions: max. 27cm
Lifespan: ~7 years under human care
Estimated population in the wild: unknown. Locally common.
Threats: Habitat destruction due to rising water levels in some lakes and bank collapse caused by speedboat generated waves and constant water level changes as a result of hydro-electric dams.
IUCN Status: Least concern
Did you know that:
- They follow and sit on animals to catch insects rising from the vegetation as they pass.
- They nest in riverside cliffs faces. Both parents excavate the burrow which is straight and slightly declining with a diameter of about 6 cm and a length of 1 - 2m and occasionally 3 -7m. At the end of the burrow there is an oval nest-chamber.