Green Bee Eater (Merops orientalis orientalis)

                                                  A green bee eater with its bee

Finishing up the bee

The green bee-eater is of the passerine order in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed throughout Asia and Africa. It is divided into several sub species of which, ssp. orientalis is the only one found in India. It inhabits scrubland and its diet consists mainly of Insects. On catching its meal it will thrash it against its perch or any hard surface. This effectively takes off the insects sting and most of its venom if it has any. It also helps break the insects exoskeleton which aids in digestion.

Another Interesting fact about the bee eater is as follows. A study suggested that green bee-eaters may be capable of interpreting the behaviour of human observers. They showed an ability to predict whether a human at a particular location would be capable of spotting the nest entrance and then behaved appropriately to avoid giving away the nest location. The ability to look at a situation from another's point of view was previously believed to be possessed only by primates