The
chestnut-headed bee-eater (
Merops leschenaulti) is a bird in the
bee-eater family, Meropidae, which is distributed in an area ranging from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka across Southeast Asia to Indonesia. It is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) in overall length and weighs 26–33 g (0.92–1.16 oz), with the sexes being similar in appearance. It is a multi-coloured bird, with parts of the bird such as the forehead and nape being chestnut, and other parts being green, yellow, black and blue. It eats predominantly insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. This chestnut-headed bee-eater was photographed in
Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp