twobehindthelens

Blue-throated Bee-eater (juvenile)

Did you know that juvenile Blue-throated Bee-eaters do not have the orange-brown colouration on their heads, but are only green and blue in colour? We have only...
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Did you know that juvenile Blue-throated Bee-eaters do not have the orange-brown colouration on their heads, but are only green and blue in colour? We have only seen photos of them, but have never seen one in real life.

This was our first time seeing one or rather, many, at once up in a bare tree — this individual pictured here was the only one that perched a little bit closer to where we were. We had to crank our necks a little bit to photograph it.

They were busy diving into the nearby pond, one after another, drinking gracefully from the water surface. Their movements were so quick, they were simply green blurrs dipping in and out of the water. The only time we could get a good look was when they were perched, their feathers drenched from the effortless dives.

Remember that one occasion more than a year ago when we drove by a random neighbourhood, and stumbled upon a huge family of these bee-eaters that made the area their nesting ground? Well we went back to that place a few weeks ago, and there was no trace of them. All we hoped was that they had successfully found some other place to reside.

It was definitely refreshing knowing that some of these beautiful birds have made a park not far from the city their home.
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