The Rainbow Bird is one of the few migrant birds Australia has. In summer it arrives in the southern half of the country - so giving rise to the countryman's name of 'summer bird'. But in the autumn after it has bred, it sets out to fly north, and some flocks actually cross the sea to New Guinea. In other ways, too, it is an unusual bird. It lives largely on bees and wasps which it catches in flight, and it always removes the sting before swallowing them. It nests in sandy country, digging a burrow on the ground which ends in a bottle shaped chamber for the nest.The Rainbow bird is also called the Rainbow Bee-eater. It's taxonomic name is Merops ornatus, which roughly translates to the "richly adorned bee eating bird". According to Birds Australia "...it really does catch bees, beating them on a branch until they can no longer sting before tossing them down."
The IUCN Red List rates this handsome bird with a very good conservation status (as of 2008), due mostly to the large range of its habitat. For obvious reasons beekeepers are not their biggest fans, however this is apparently balanced by the birds keeping the population of other flying insects such as locusts down (Wikipedia).
Another good description of this bird is available at the Australian Government Environment site. Check the video below to hear the Rainbow bee-eater in action.
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