Kingdom Animalia Scientific name Merops Higher classification Bee-eater Order Coraciiformes | Family Meropidae Phylum Chordata Rank Genus | |
Lower classifications European bee‑eater, Blue‑cheeked bee‑eater, Green bee‑eater, Southern carmine bee‑eater, Blue‑tailed bee‑eater | ||
Merops is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. The members of this Old World family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air.
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All bee-eaters are in the genus Merops and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asiatic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae (in genera Nyctyornis and Meropogon). The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater".
Extant species
Twenty-four extant species are recognized:
Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Merops:
References
Merops (genus) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA