CreatureData

Little bee-eater

Merops pusillus P. L. S. Müller, 1776

LCLeast Concernbirds

The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a species in the family Meropidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 14.6 g to 15.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the little bee-eater

Weight
14.6 g – 15.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
19 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.45 – 4.9src 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 little bee-eater live?

Not recorded

What is the little bee-eater?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a bird species in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They should not be confused with the little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis). Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns. They inhabit various biomes, such as savanna, bushveld, and even marsh-like areas.

From the Wikipedia article “Little bee-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_bee-eater&oldid=1379574016), 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 little bee-eater endangered?

The little 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 little bee-eater classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyMeropidae
  6. genusMerops
  7. SpeciesMerops pusillus P. L. S. Müller, 1776

Synonyms Melittophagus pusillus

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • LIBEEnglish
  • KleinbyvreterAfrikaans
  • Klein-byevreterAfrikaans
  • وروار صغيرArabic
  • Малък пчелоядBulgarian
  • Gwespetaer bihanBreton
  • abellerol petitCatalan
  • vlha maláCzech
  • gwenynysor bachWelsh
  • DværgbiæderDanish
  • ZwergspintGerman
  • Kleiner BienenfresserGerman
  • ZwergbienenfresserGerman
  • nana abelmanĝuloEsperanto
  • Malgranda abelmanĝuloEsperanto
  • Abejaruco chicoSpanish
  • pisi-mesilasenäppEstonian
  • kääpiömehiläissyöjäFinnish
  • Guêpier nainFrench
  • Beachaire beagIrish
  • שרקרק גמדHebrew
  • törpegyurgyalagHungarian
  • Gruccione minoreItalian
  • Gruccione pettocannella minoreItalian
  • ヒメハチクイJapanese
  • nykštukinis bitininkasLithuanian
  • dwergbijeneterDutch
  • dvergbieterNorwegian
  • żołna małaPolish
  • نکا مکھی-کھاناWestern Panjabi
  • abelharuco-douradoPortuguese
  • abelharuco-pequenoPortuguese
  • Карликовая щуркаRussian
  • včelárik malýSlovak
  • mali čebelarSlovenian
  • Mala pčelaricaSerbian
  • dvärgbiätareSwedish
  • Küçük ArıkuşuTurkish
  • seSelamarumoTswana
  • бджолоїдка карликоваUkrainian
  • 小蜂虎Chinese
  • iNkothaZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the little bee-eater

Other species in the same genus Merops.

CompareLittle bee-eater vs European bee-eaterLittle bee-eater vs Asian green bee-eaterLittle bee-eater vs Blue-cheeked bee-eaterLittle bee-eater vs Blue-tailed bee-eater

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the little bee-eater?

An adult little bee-eater weighs 14.6 g – 15.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the little bee-eater endangered?

The little 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 little bee-eater?

The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) 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). Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-bee-eater

MLA

“Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-bee-eater.

BibTeX
@misc{little_bee_eater_2026,
  title = {Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-bee-eater},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}