Bird of the month 08/2005 Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) 27 cm. Unmistakeable colourful bird. It has a slim body with long pointed wings and a long tail with elongated central tail feathers. Upperparts graduate from chestnut on the crown to gold on the rump. Its throat is yellow, underparts and tail are blue-green and cheeks are blackish with white above the bill. (Non-breeding plumage is much duller.) The Bee-eater has a long, sharpen, slightly curved beak and very short legs. It has a swift, acrobatic flight upon catching flies. Its voice is a distinctive, quite liquid "pruuk-pruik". Habitat common breeder in Hungary on low intensive agricultural lands, open fields, pastures, grasslands and steppes | 
© Photo by Antal Bagdi |