Merops hirunineus

This small, green bee-eater has a diagnostic blue, forked tail and blue belly. It is a common nomad in a wide range of habitats from semi-desert scrub to forest edges.

We first recorded this unqiue bee-eater, the only bee-eater in the region to have a deeply forked tail, in April 2011 while staying at a camp near Nxai Pan in Botswana. We connected again with these beautiful birds while travelling in Namibia in July 2012.