.jpg)
The swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae, native to sub-Saharan Africa. About 20 centimetres (8 inches) in length, it feeds on insects, perching on a high branch and sallying forth to catch prey in mid-air. This swallow-tailed bee-eater of the subspecies M. h. chrysolaimus was photographed in Senegal.Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp