Blue-throated Bee-eater

Open encyclopedia reference

The blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis) is a species of bird in the bee-eater family. It is found in much of southeast Asia, in subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Their diet consists mostly of bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Blue-throated bee-eater is a medium-large species of bee-eater with brightly coloured plumage consisting of a red-brown nape, dark green wings, light green breast, and their signature blue throat. The juvenile plumage has a dark green head and wings and light green breast, only developing their full plumage in adulthood. They have a rich variety of songs and calls, including long calls which allow them to communicate long distances in the forest.

The conservation status of the blue-throated bee-eaters is of "least concern" due to their large distribution and stability of its population as of 2024. However, deforestation may be its biggest threat, destroying its habitat and decreasing bird diversity generally.

Wikipedia contributors, Blue-throated bee-eater; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:57:09.176126+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Merops viridis Linnaeus, 1758

Name authority

Linnaeus, 1758

Common name

Blue-throated 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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderCoraciiformes
10. familyMeropidae
11. genusMerops Linnaeus, 1758
12. speciesMerops viridis Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Merops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 26 records assigned to Meropidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554656 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:3ZW5S. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.