The colourful blue throated-bee eaters

 It is the early birds that catches the bees. The Bee-eaters came in a large flock early this morning (around 7.30 am) and were gladly diving and snatching the bees in mid-air.  I think today of all days the swarm of bees must have been blown by the wind to this area and being chased by the bee-eaters.  It was a beautiful show of loud chatter and aerobatic movements to watch the birds preying on the bees with their long and slender body and rigid wings striking at the bees and then rushing to a dead tree above me to perch.  On perching they quickly batter the bees on to the branches giving them a knock-out blow before swallowing them.

Bee-eater in unison battering the bees on to the branches

 The bee-eaters are a social bird and their large turnout this morning made me excited to see the male and female of the species.  However, I noticed that the sexes of this blue-throated bee-eater are almost alike or nearly so  since they were hardly no appreciative differences in their plumage.

Blue throat and green breast and also a bluish tail...

This is how to snatch a bee....

Bee-eaters belong to the Meropidae family