Green Bee Eater (Merops orientalis) is a grass-green sparrow-sized bird tinged with reddish brown on head and neck. It has a clearly visible black ‘necklace’. It is a richly colored, slim bird. The central pair of tail feathers prolonged into blunt pins. The wings are green and the beak is black. It is about 16-18 cm in length, including the two elongated central tail feathers.
The bird is commonly found in pairs, or parties, in open country on telegraph wires and fence-posts. Bee-eaters mainly eat bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before eating its meal, a bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. Females lay 4 to 8 spherical white eggs. Green Bee Eater is locally called Patringa.
It is also known as small green bee eater or little green bee eater.
