Blue-moustached bee-eater
| Blue-moutached bee-eater | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Meropidae |
| Genus: | Merops |
| Species: | M. mentalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Merops mentalis Cabanis, 1889 | |
The blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is native to the Upper Guinean forests, the Western High Plateau and Bioko.
It is found in submontane and upland habitats in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The blue-moustached bee-eater is a rainforest bird usually found singly. It perches on a high branch in the canopy beside tracks and clearings and swoops down on small butterflies, honeybees and other insects before returning to its original perch.