Northern Carmine Bee-eater

How to identify the Northern carmine bee-eater

Carmine body, turquoise-blue head and throat, a black mask and a long, pointed tail. Slender and graceful in flight.

Where to see the Northern carmine bee-eater in Murchison Falls National Park

Over the open grassland on the northern bank on game drives; birds perch on low bushes and on the backs of grazing animals.

Habitat

Open savanna, grassland and floodplains, usually not far from large rivers where it nests in sandy banks.

What the Northern carmine bee-eater eats

Flying insects such as bees, grasshoppers and locusts, caught on the wing.

Behaviour

It often rides on the backs of large birds and mammals and darts out to catch the insects they disturb, and gathers at grass fires for the same reason. It breeds in large colonies in riverbanks.

Best time to see the Northern carmine bee-eater

Mostly the drier months, roughly November to April. Migrant within Africa.