CreatureData

Blue-headed bee-eater

Merops muelleri (Cassin, 1857)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri) is a species in the family Meropidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 22.4 g to 22.9 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri)
Photo: Original: Francesco Veronesi ; this edit: MPF · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the blue-headed bee-eater

Weight
22.4 g – 22.9 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
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 blue-headed bee-eater live?

Not recorded

What is the blue-headed bee-eater?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in forest habitats in tropical West and Central Africa, including in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Kenya.

From the Wikipedia article “Blue-headed bee-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue-headed_bee-eater&oldid=1379673884), 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 blue-headed bee-eater endangered?

The blue-headed bee-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the blue-headed bee-eater classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyMeropidae
  6. genusMerops
  7. SpeciesMerops muelleri (Cassin, 1857)

Synonyms Melittophagus muelleri muelleri, Melittophagus mulleri yalensis, Meropiscus muelleri, Meropiscus mülleri, Merops muelleri muelleri, Merops muelleri yalensis

Other names and names in other languages (32)
  • BHBEEnglish
  • وروار أزرق الرأسArabic
  • Gwespetaer penn glasBreton
  • abellerol capblau orientalCatalan
  • vlha safírováCzech
  • gwenynysor glasWelsh
  • Brunrygget BiæderDanish
  • SaphirspintGerman
  • blukapa abelmanĝuloEsperanto
  • Abejaruco cabeciazul orientalSpanish
  • sini-mesilasenäppEstonian
  • sinimehiläissyöjäFinnish
  • Guêpier à tête bleueFrench
  • zafírgyurgyalagHungarian
  • Gruccione testabluItalian
  • ムラサキハチクイJapanese
  • mėlyngalvis bitininkasLithuanian
  • BlauwkopbijeneterDutch
  • brunryggbieterNorwegian
  • żołna szafirowaPolish
  • abelharuco-de-bigodesPortuguese
  • abelharuco-de-cabeça-azulPortuguese
  • Сапфировая щуркаRussian
  • Синеголовая щуркаRussian
  • včelárik modrohlavýSlovak
  • safirasti čebelarSlovenian
  • Plavoglava pčelaricaSerbian
  • blåhuvad biätareSwedish
  • Mavi Başlı ArıkuşuTurkish
  • бджолоїдка сапфіроваUkrainian
  • 蓝头蜂虎Chinese
  • 藍頭蜂虎Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blue-headed bee-eater

Other species in the same genus Merops.

CompareBlue-headed bee-eater vs European bee-eaterBlue-headed bee-eater vs Asian green bee-eaterBlue-headed bee-eater vs Blue-cheeked bee-eaterBlue-headed bee-eater vs Blue-tailed bee-eater

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blue-headed bee-eater?

An adult blue-headed bee-eater weighs 22.4 g – 22.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the blue-headed bee-eater endangered?

The blue-headed 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 blue-headed bee-eater?

The blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-headed-bee-eater

MLA

“Blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-headed-bee-eater.

BibTeX
@misc{blue_headed_bee_eater_2026,
  title = {Blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-headed-bee-eater},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}