The red throated bee eater.

Also known as merops bulocki is a species of birds found in Tropical Africa with a wide range and population listed by IUCN in the ” least concern” status. They belong to the family meropidae. They are characterised by uttering a variety of rather loud melodious calls . Commonest call from perched or flying birds is a short “wip”. This beautiful bird has all the 7 colors of the rainbow which helps blend with the enviroment in their hunt for bees.

The adult red-throated bee eater grows to about 20 to 22 cm (8 to 9 in) in length with a moderately long tail but no streamers. The upper parts are green and the red chin and throat are distinctive, though about 1% of individuals have a yellow throat. The hind neck, breast and underparts are buff, and the under-tail coverts and thighs are bright blue. To the east of the Central African Republic, the birds have blue facial features while to the west these features are gre

The red-throated bee-eater has a wide distribution across tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and Gambia in the west to Uganda, southern Sudan, and Ethiopia in the east. Its typical habitat is savannah with scattered trees, farmland with trees, the edges of marshes, bushy pastures and gardens, but the birds are seldom to be found far from the erosion gullies, streams and small rivers, in the banks of which they nest . The red-throated bee-eater is a colonial species, nesting in groups and remaining in the nesting area all year round. The nests are tunnels, excavated before the ground dries after the rainy season, the colony having up to about fifty nests. The diet of these birds consists mostly of honey-bees and stingless bees, as well as other insects. When foraging, a pair or a few individuals move around together, and can sometimes be seen perched in a row side by side.

This species is one of the resident birds at sambiya River Lodge roaming the canopy walk above sambiya river. The lodge also has rare bird species like the pale fishing hawk and grey headed kingfishers among others.

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