African green bee-eater
Merops viridissimus Swainson, 1837
The African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus) is a species in the family Meropidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 14.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the African green bee-eater
- Weight
- 14.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the African green bee-eater live?
Not recorded
What is the African green bee-eater?
The African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found throughout arid Sahel region of Africa from Senegal east to Ethiopia, and has expanded its range north to Egypt over the past few decades.
From the Wikipedia article “African green bee-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_green_bee-eater&oldid=1385107141), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the African green bee-eater endangered?
The African green bee-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the African green bee-eater classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyMeropidae
- genusMerops
- SpeciesMerops viridissimus Swainson, 1837
Other names and names in other languages (28)
- AGBEEnglish
- وروار أخضر صغير [viridissimus Group]Arabic
- abellerol maragda africàCatalan
- vlha sahelskáCzech
- SahelbiæderDanish
- SahelsmaragdspintGerman
- AfrikasmaragdspintGerman
- verda abelmanĝuloEsperanto
- Abejaruco esmeralda africanoSpanish
- SahelinmehiläissyöjäFinnish
- Guêpier vertFrench
- Guêpier vert d'AfriqueFrench
- Beachaire glas AfracachIrish
- שרקרק גמדי (אפריקני)Hebrew
- שרקרק צהוב גרוןHebrew
- zelena pčelaricaCroatian
- Gruccione verde piccoloItalian
- Smaragdinis bitininkasLithuanian
- Afrikaanse Kleine Groene BijeneterDutch
- olivinbieterNorwegian
- żołna szmaragdowaPolish
- abelharuco-verde-africanoPortuguese
- Изумрудная щуркаRussian
- Нитехвостая щуркаRussian
- včelárik savanovýSlovak
- sahelbiätareSwedish
- бджолоїдка смарагдоваUkrainian
- 非洲绿喉蜂虎Chinese
Relatives of the African green bee-eater
Other species in the same genus Merops.
European bee-eater
Merops apiaster
Asian green bee-eater
Merops orientalis
Blue-cheeked bee-eater
Merops persicus
Blue-tailed bee-eater
Merops philippinus
Rainbow bee-eater
Merops ornatus
Chestnut-headed bee-eater
Merops leschenaulti
CompareAfrican green bee-eater vs European bee-eaterAfrican green bee-eater vs Asian green bee-eaterAfrican green bee-eater vs Blue-cheeked bee-eaterAfrican green bee-eater vs Blue-tailed bee-eater
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the African green bee-eater?
An adult African green bee-eater weighs 14.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the African green bee-eater endangered?
The African green bee-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the African green bee-eater?
The African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus) belongs to the family Meropidae in the order Coraciiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-green-bee-eater
“African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-green-bee-eater.
@misc{african_green_bee_eater_2026,
title = {African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-green-bee-eater},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}