Rainbow Bee-eater

1. Black eye-stripe bordered by blue below and green above.

2. Long central tail feathers extending beyond the main tail.

3. Rufous underwings visible during flight.

These birds specialize in catching flying insects such as bees and wasps, removing stingers by rubbing their prey against a perch before consumption. They breed in colonies from November to January in southern Australia, digging burrows up to 1.5 meters deep in sandy soil where they lay 4–5 eggs. Both parents share incubation duties alongside helperstypically offspring from previous seasons.

Rainbow Bee-eaters inhabit open woodlands, farmland, riverbanks, parks, and gardens across mainland Australia. They perch on exposed branches or power lines to hunt insects mid-flight. Southern populations migrate north during winter to northern Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia.