NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rainbow Bee-eater
Merops ornatus 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.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Merops ornatus Latham, 1801
- Name authority
- Latham, 1801
- Common name
- Rainbow 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 ornatus 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Swallow-tailed Bee-eaterMerops hirundineus A. A. H. Lichtenstein, 1793 | MeropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Oceania
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=554660 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3ZW5K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.