Bird
European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster · Meropidae · Coraciiformes
Best monthsApr–May · Augmost records
Records798,092in 102 countries
Most seen inSpain236,243 records
Red ListLeast concernIUCN status
About
European Bee-eater in brief
The european bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a bird of the Meropidae family — species of bird of genus Merops.
Across the 102 countries we cover it has 798,092 published records, most of them from Spain, South Africa and France. It is strongly seasonal: records peak in April, May and August and fall to their lowest in January and February.
Its global conservation status is least concern on the IUCN Red List.
Records by month
All countries combined · the strongest months highlightedJFMAMJJASOND
Where & when
When to look in each country
Spain236,243 records · best May, Apr
South Africa108,999 records · best Nov, Dec
France105,347 records · best May, Aug
Portugal57,886 records · best Apr, May
Israel36,000 records · best Apr, Sep
Türkiye23,607 records · best May, Sep
Greece18,982 records · best May, Apr
Italy15,640 records · best May, Aug
Bulgaria14,298 records · best May, Sep
Germany11,769 records · best May, Jul
Russia9,634 records · best May, Jun
Kenya9,400 records · best Oct, Nov
Netherlands9,349 records · best May, Jun
Sweden8,166 records · best May, Jun
Hungary7,963 records · best May, Jul
Georgia7,332 records · best May, Sep
Namibia7,220 records · best Nov, Mar
Ukraine6,918 records · best May, Aug
Zimbabwe6,794 records · best Jan, Feb
Romania6,786 records · best May, Aug
Morocco5,778 records · best Apr, Mar
Iran4,991 records · best May, Apr
Croatia4,549 records · best May, Aug
Cyprus4,386 records · best Sep, May
Tanzania4,167 records · best Oct, Nov
Zambia4,050 records · best Oct, Nov
Serbia3,862 records · best May, Aug
Austria3,679 records · best May, Aug
Czechia3,359 records · best May, Jul
Botswana2,810 records · best Mar, Dec
United Arab Emirates2,513 records · best Apr, Sep
Uganda2,407 records · best Oct, Sep
Palestine2,324 records · best Apr, May
Slovakia2,289 records · best May, Aug
Egypt2,232 records · best May, Apr
Denmark2,215 records · best May, Jun
Kazakhstan1,950 records · best May, Jun
Kuwait1,934 records · best Apr, Sep
Mozambique1,877 records · best Nov, Dec
Belgium1,802 records · best Jun, Aug
Poland1,721 records · best May, Aug
Armenia1,712 records · best May, Aug
Eswatini1,624 records · best Jan, Mar
Gambia1,578 records · best Nov, Jan
Saudi Arabia1,416 records · best Apr, Oct
Switzerland1,386 records · best May, Jul
Azerbaijan1,323 records · best May, Apr
Moldova1,267 records · best May, Aug
Albania1,248 records · best May, Aug
Rwanda1,145 records · best Oct, Dec
Malawi1,068 records · best Nov, Oct
Slovenia1,028 records · best Aug, May
Montenegro755 records · best May, Jul
Uzbekistan716 records · best May, Jun
Jordan674 records · best Apr, May
Tunisia665 records · best Apr, May
Malta664 records · best Apr, Sep
North Macedonia652 records · best May, Jun
Kyrgyzstan535 records · best Jul, May
Algeria520 records · best Aug, Jul
Democratic Republic of the Congo489 records · best Oct, Jan
Senegal428 records · best Feb, Mar
Lebanon419 records · best Sep, May
Bosnia and Herzegovina415 records · best May, Aug
Iraq402 records · best May, Apr
Qatar384 records · best Apr, Sep
Tajikistan256 records · best May, Aug
Belarus196 records · best Jun, May
Angola193 records · best Oct, Nov
Benin191 records · best Jul, Feb
Djibouti188 records · best Sep, Oct
Oman121 records · best Apr, Nov
Republic of the Congo92 records · best Jan, Nov
Kosovo87 records · best Aug, May
Afghanistan87 records · best Jul, May
Bahrain87 records · best Apr, May
Lithuania86 records · best May, Jun
Turkmenistan76 records · best May, Apr
Estonia71 records · best May, Jun
Guinea-Bissau65 records · best Sep, Dec
Syria64 records · best Apr, May
Gabon62 records · best Dec, Feb
Mauritania56 records · best Apr, Mar
Yemen51 records · best Sep, Oct
Sudan45 records · best Sep, May
Libya39 records · best May, Apr
Burundi32 records · best Oct, Mar
Eritrea32 records · best Apr, Sep
Latvia29 records · best May, Jun
Guinea28 records · best Jan, Nov
Andorra19 records · best May, Sep
Central African Republic19 records · best Dec, Apr
Togo19 records · best Nov, Jan
Burkina Faso13 records · best Dec, Sep
Cape Verde13 records · best Apr, Feb
Somalia12 records · best Apr, Sep
South Sudan10 records · best Nov, Apr
Luxembourg6 records · best Jun, May
Monaco2 records · best Jul, Sep
San Marino2 records · best May, Jun
Saint Lucia1 records · best Feb, Jan
Seychelles1 records · best Nov, Jan
Map
Where it has been recorded
Density of published records; brighter cells have more records.