CreatureData

Olive bee-eater

Merops superciliosus Linnaeus, 1766

LCLeast Concernbirds

The olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus) is a species in the family Meropidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 38.5 g to 49 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the olive bee-eater

Weight
38.5 g – 49 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
21 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.25 – 4.9src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the olive bee-eater live?

Not recorded

What is the olive bee-eater?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The olive bee-eater or Madagascar bee-eater (Merops superciliosus) is a bee-eater species in the genus Merops. It is native to the southern half of Africa where it is present in Angola; Botswana; Burundi; Comoros; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Kenya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mayotte; Mozambique; Namibia; Rwanda; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe. It is a common species with a wide range so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as "least concern".

From the Wikipedia article “Olive bee-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olive_bee-eater&oldid=1314761570), 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 olive bee-eater endangered?

The olive 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 olive bee-eater classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyMeropidae
  6. genusMerops
  7. SpeciesMerops superciliosus Linnaeus, 1766

Synonyms Merops donaldsoni, Merops ruficapillus, Merops superciliosus donaldsoni

Other names and names in other languages (53)
  • Blue-cheeked bee-eaterEnglish
  • MABEEnglish
  • Madagascar bee-eaterEnglish
  • OlyfbyvreterAfrikaans
  • وروار أزرق الخدArabic
  • آكل النحل الزيتونArabic
  • آكل النحل أزرق الخدArabic
  • Зелен пчелоядBulgarian
  • Gwespetaer MadagaskarBreton
  • abellerol de MadagascarCatalan
  • vlha zelenáCzech
  • gwenynysor aeliogWelsh
  • MadagascarbiæderDanish
  • Madagaskar-biæderDanish
  • MadagaskarbiæderDanish
  • MadagaskarspintGerman
  • Madagaskar-SpintGerman
  • ΠρασινομέροπαςGreek
  • madagaskara abelmanĝuloEsperanto
  • Abejaruco malgacheSpanish
  • ruskekurk-mesilasenäppEstonian
  • vihermehiläissyöjäFinnish
  • naamiomehiläissyöjäFinnish
  • Guêpier de MadagascarFrench
  • Guêpier malgacheFrench
  • Beachaire olóigeIrish
  • maslinasta pčelaricaCroatian
  • zöld gyurgyalagHungarian
  • Gruccione egizianoItalian
  • Gruccione del MadagascarItalian
  • Gruccione di PersiaItalian
  • マダガスカルハチクイJapanese
  • žaliasis bitininkasLithuanian
  • KirikiokaMalagasy
  • BlauwwangbijeneterDutch
  • blauwwang-bijeneterDutch
  • MadagaskarbijeneterDutch
  • olivenbieterNorwegian
  • żołna zielonaPolish
  • abelharuco-malgaxePortuguese
  • abelharuco-de-faces-azuisPortuguese
  • abelharuco-oliváceoPortuguese
  • Оливковая щуркаRussian
  • včelárik zelenýSlovak
  • olivni čebelarSlovenian
  • Crvenovrata pčelaricaSerbian
  • olivbiätareSwedish
  • olivgrön biätareSwedish
  • Madagaskar ArıkuşuTurkish
  • Бджолоїдка зеленаUkrainian
  • бджолоїдка оливковаUkrainian
  • 马岛蜂虎Chinese
  • 馬達加斯加橄綠蜂虎Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the olive bee-eater

Other species in the same genus Merops.

CompareOlive bee-eater vs European bee-eaterOlive bee-eater vs Asian green bee-eaterOlive bee-eater vs Blue-cheeked bee-eaterOlive bee-eater vs Blue-tailed bee-eater

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the olive bee-eater?

An adult olive bee-eater weighs 38.5 g – 49 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the olive bee-eater endangered?

The olive 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 olive bee-eater?

The olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus) 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). Olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/olive-bee-eater

MLA

“Olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/olive-bee-eater.

BibTeX
@misc{olive_bee_eater_2026,
  title = {Olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/olive-bee-eater},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}