CreatureData

Blue-moustached bee-eater

Merops mentalis Cabanis, 1889

NTNear Threatenedbirds

The blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis) 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 Near Threatened.

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Quick facts about the blue-moustached 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
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the blue-moustached bee-eater live?

Not recorded

What is the blue-moustached bee-eater?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae, a group of brightly colored Palearctic and Afrotropical birds noted for feeding primarily on venomous Hymenoptera such as bees and wasps. The blue-moustached bee-eater is one of 31 species within this family. It is a small, dark bee-eater measuring about 19 cm in length. Both sexes are generally similar in appearance, with predominantly purplish-blue plumage, a rich chestnut mantle, back, and wings.

The species is native to the Upper Guinean forests, the Western High Plateau and Bioko, and occurs in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, where it inhabits submontane and upland rainforest habitats.

The blue-moustached bee-eater is typically found singly and is most often seen perched high in the forest canopy beside tracks or clearings. From these perches, it swoops down to capture small insects, such as butterflies, honeybees and other flying arthropods before returning to its original perch.

From the Wikipedia article “Blue-moustached bee-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue-moustached_bee-eater&oldid=1339390606), 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-moustached bee-eater endangered?

The blue-moustached bee-eater is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  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 Near Threatened species.

How is the blue-moustached bee-eater classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyMeropidae
  6. genusMerops
  7. SpeciesMerops mentalis Cabanis, 1889

Synonyms Melittophagus muelleri mentalis, Melittophagus mülleri mentalis, Merops marionensis, Merops marionis, Merops muelleri marionis, Merops muelleri mentalis, Merops muelleri northcotti, Merops northcotti

Other names and names in other languages (32)
  • Blue-headed bee-eaterEnglish
  • BMBEEnglish
  • وروار أزرق الشاربArabic
  • abellerol capblau occidentalCatalan
  • vlha modrohlaváCzech
  • Blåbuget BiæderDanish
  • TürkisbartspintGerman
  • bluliphara abelmanĝuloEsperanto
  • Abejaruco de Bigote AzulSpanish
  • Abejaruco cabeciazul occidentalSpanish
  • indigomehiläissyöjäFinnish
  • Guêpier à moustachesFrench
  • Guêpier à moustaches bleuesFrench
  • plava pčelaricaCroatian
  • Gruccione dai mustacchi bluItalian
  • アオヒゲハチクイJapanese
  • Mėlynūsis bitininkasLithuanian
  • BlauwsnorbijeneterDutch
  • lazulibieterNorwegian
  • Żołna maskowaPolish
  • żółna maskowaPolish
  • abelharuco-de-bigodesPortuguese
  • Синеусая щуркаRussian
  • Голубая усатая щуркаRussian
  • včelárik zafírovýSlovak
  • modrobrki čebelarSlovenian
  • Pčelarica plavih brkovaSerbian
  • mustaschbiätareSwedish
  • Çivit Rengi ArıkuşuTurkish
  • бджолоїдка кобальтогрудаUkrainian
  • 蓝须蜂虎Chinese
  • 藍髭蜂虎Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blue-moustached bee-eater

Other species in the same genus Merops.

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

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blue-moustached bee-eater?

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

Is the blue-moustached bee-eater endangered?

The blue-moustached bee-eater is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the blue-moustached bee-eater?

The blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis) 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-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-moustached-bee-eater

MLA

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

BibTeX
@misc{blue_moustached_bee_eater_2026,
  title = {Blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-moustached-bee-eater},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}