Photo: Charles J. Sharp / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Least Concern

Kingfishers & Rollers

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Merops leschenaulti

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) — Kingfishers & Rollers of South & Southeast Asia.

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Found across 4 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.

Regional checklists

Birds of Indonesia Birds of India Birds of Malaysia Birds of Thailand

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The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) is a member of the Meropidae family found in South & Southeast Asia. Adults weigh 27.2 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

Conservation status

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.

Where it fits

Class Aves
Order Coraciiformes
Family Meropidae Bee-eaters
Genus Merops
Species leschenaulti

Where it lives

Himalayas from northwestern India and southwestern India and Sri Lanka to Andaman Is., southern China, Vietnam, and northern Malay Pen.; disjunctly Java and Bali

South & Southeast Asia

Quick facts

Weight: 27.2 g
Diet: Invertebrate-eaters
Family: Meropidae
Order: Coraciiformes
Habitat: Woodland

How to identify

Similar birds

Least Concern

Biology & behaviour

Diet

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Behaviour

A bird of semi-open woodland, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.

Migration

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) is a species of bird in the Meropidae family, part of the order Coraciiformes. It occurs naturally across South & Southeast Asia. Its distribution covers OR Himalayas from nw India and sw India and Sri Lanka to Andaman Is., s China, Vietnam, and n Malay Pen.; disjunctly Java and Bali.

It is a small bird. Adults weighs around 27.2 g, with a wing length of about 10.6 cm and a tail of around 8 cm.

The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.

The species has a mapped global range of roughly 2.8 million km².

Songs & calls

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater — Call

Recorded by Arend Wassink Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is a small bird that weighs around 27.2 g.

Where does the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater live?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is found across South & Southeast Asia with a range covering OR Himalayas from nw India and sw India and Sri Lanka to Andaman Is., s China, Vietnam, and n Malay Pen.; disjunctly Java and Bali, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.

What family does the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater belong to?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) belongs to the Meropidae family, in the order Coraciiformes.

What does the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater eat?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Does the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater migrate?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.

Is the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater endangered?

The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.

What sound does the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater make?

1 real field recording of the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater — including its call — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.

How large is the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater's range?

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater has a mapped global range of about 2.8 million km².