Talk:European bee-eater

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Untitled[edit]

To "brooded for 7 days": Which bird species could have a brooding time of less than even 10 days? Not even the smallest species! - With thanks and greetings to my (new) British collegues, Helgo BRAN 2006-07-17_16.45 CEST

File:Pair of Merops apiaster feeding.jpg[edit]

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Pair of Merops apiaster feeding.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on August 25, 2014. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2014-08-25. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:02, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

European bee-eaters
The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae which breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia and winters in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. The species predominantly feeds on insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch.Photo: Pierre Dalous
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Overemphasis on UK?[edit]

I can't help feeling that the article dedicates too much coverage to the rare UK breeding attempts. While it is no doubt interesting for the twitchers, it isn't really significant for the species as a whole. I'm tempted to trim the UK section to a single paragraph, but what is really needed is probably expansion elsewhere - if anyone has relevant sources, a better description of its range, along with population size etc would probably be a good start. I'll see if I can find anything myself, but others may be in a better position to locate useful sources. AndyTheGrump (talk) 10:29, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

Hi Andy, you are obviously right. I don't know if the UK stuff would merit a stand alone article. I've good sources, just a matter of finding time... Jimfbleak - talk to me? 12:25, 3 August 2015 (UTC)
Sorry, my post evidently wasn't clear - what I meant was expanding the rest of the article, not starting another on the UK stuff. I don't think that could be justified for a single species. It might (if there are good sources) be possible to create an article on the broader topic of rare bird sightings in the UK, though it would run the risk of becoming a long and indiscriminate list, and of filling with questionable claims. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:22, 3 August 2015 (UTC)
AndyTheGrump, I completely agree. I'll expand when I can, but busy in RL at present. I have access to the online version of Handbook of Birds of the World and I own Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. If you want to make a start, email me and I'll send you what I've got Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:30, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
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