NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Asian Green Bee-eater
Merops orientalis Latham, 1801
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Green bee-eater (Merops orientalis) with blue pansy (Junonia orithya ocyale) 4 of 4, Jojawar, Rajasthan, India
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Asian green bee-eater (Merops orientalis), also known as the little green bee-eater, and just green bee-eater, is a bird species in the bee-eater family. It is resident or with short-distance seasonal movements, and is found widely distributed across Asia from coastal southern Iran east through the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam. Populations in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that were formerly assigned to this species (under the name green bee-eater) are now considered to be distinct species, the African green bee-eater and the Arabian green bee-eater. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named.
Wikipedia contributors, Asian green bee-eater; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:20:42.079522+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Merops orientalis Latham, 1801
- Name authority
- Latham, 1801
- Common name
- Asian Green Bee-eater
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Meropidae
- Genus
- Merops
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyMeropidae
- genusMerops Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesMerops orientalis Latham, 1801
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Merops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Bee-eaterMerops ornatus Latham, 1801 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-tailed Bee-eaterMerops philippinus Linnaeus, 1767 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Somali Bee-eaterMerops revoilii Oustalet, 1882 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-breasted Bee-eaterMerops variegatus Vieillot, 1817 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black Bee-eaterMerops gularis Shaw, 1798 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Green Bee-eaterMerops viridissimus Swainson, 1837 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated Bee-eaterMerops albicollis Vieillot, 1817 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| European Bee-eaterMerops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Böhm's Bee-eaterMerops boehmi Reichenow, 1882 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-headed Bee-eaterMerops breweri (Cassin, 1859) | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-fronted Bee-eaterMerops bullockoides A. Smith, 1834 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-throated Bee-eaterMerops bulocki Vieillot, 1817 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554654 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3ZW5J. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.