Before eating its meal, the bee-eater removes the sting by hitting the insect on a hard surface. During this process, most of the venom is extracted.
Areas of Africa where there are few trees or bushes is the native habitat of the bee eater. It spends time riding around on the backs of other animals for fun. About 10% of its time is spent on comfort activities.
This brilliantly colored small bird is just what its name implies, an eater of bees. When not out hunting bees, it can be found perched in a tree. In areas where perches are hard to find, this bird will often perch and ride around on the backs of ostriches, sheep, and even the large ground-dwelling bird called the bustard.
These animals don’t seem to mind taking the bee eater for a ride, and while it is riding, the bee eater sits very quietly and enjoys the ride, until it gets hungry and flies away to hunt bees.
In the United States, many robins and catbirds have the habit of following along behind a farmer who is digging or plowing a field. These birds drop down after the farmer has passed and pick up any grubs or earthworms his work has turned up.
Chimney swifts and swallows often fly behind a farmer plowing a field and feed on the insects his noisy machine sends flying into the air.
Related Posts
-
How Do Bees Find Their Way Back To the Bee Hive and Can Lost Bees Find a New Home In Another Bee Colony?
There is a good chance a bee will find its way back home to the bee hive if it somehow got lost. Its large size suggests it was a queen or worker bumblebee,…
-
How Do Bees Make Honey and How Do Bees Protect Honey Against Bacteria and Microorganisms?
Honeybees collect the nectar secreted by flowers to attract pollinating insects and convert it to honey through two chemical changes and one physical change. The changes add up to a product that is…
-
How did the lotus-eater get its name and Where does the term lotus-eater come from?
According to ancient Greek myth, the people dwelling in a certain region in northern Africa derived particular enjoyment from the fruit of a tree which the Greeks called lotus. The fruit itself was…
-
Where Do Killer Bees Come From and Why Are Killer Bees More Poisonous Than Regular Bees?
"Killer Bees," more accurately known as Africanized honeybees, are not more poisonous, but they are much more aggressive. In 1956, a geneticist named Warwick Kerr brought African honeybees to Brazil to crossbreed with…
-
What Is the Best Way To Treat a Bee Sting and What Are the Symptoms Of an Allergic Reaction To a Bee Sting?
There are two basic kinds of reaction to a bee sting, one requiring immediate care in the emergency room and the other less serious. In the less serious local reaction, the chemicals in…
-
How Does Smoking Bees Calm Them Down and Why Does Smoke Interrupt a Bee Colony’s Defensive Response?
Beekeepers use smoke to get bees to calm down and not sting them. When bees encounter smoke, they begin a feeding frenzy, thinking their hive is in danger from fire, and prepare to…
