Rainbow Bee-Eater
Merops ornatus
Also known as: Australian Bee Eater, Rainbowbird
About This Species
This vividly coloured bee-eater hawks flying insects from open perches near riverbanks, cleared woodland, and farmland edges across Australia and parts of the Indo-Pacific, returning repeatedly to the same perch after each sortie. Its liquid, rolling call is distinctive and often heard as birds circle high overhead on migration. The species is most conspicuous in the warmer months when nesting colonially in burrows dug into sandy banks.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep a respectful distance from nesting colonies, ideally 20-30 metres, since burrow entrances in sandy banks are easily collapsed or abandoned if disturbed by people standing too close.
- Native bird nests are protected under Australian wildlife law, and disturbing an active burrow colony can constitute an offence.
- Observing from a fixed spot and letting birds come and go on their own schedule is far less disruptive than approaching the bank itself.
LCAvesCoraciiformesMeropidae
Seasonal Activity
383,283 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Meropidae
Photo
(c) Nicole Brooker, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Nicole Brooker
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.