Nyctyornis

Nyctyornis
Blue-bearded bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Meropidae
Genus:	Nyctyornis Jardine & Selby, 1830
Type species
Merops amictus[1] Temminck, 1824
Species
See text

Nyctyornis is a genus of the bee-eaters, near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. There are just two members of this group, which occur in tropical south and southeastern Asia.^[2]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Nyctyornis amictus	Red-bearded bee-eater	Southeast Asia
	Nyctyornis athertoni	Blue-bearded bee-eater	Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia

The genus Nyctyornis was introduced by the naturalists William Jardine and Prideaux John Selby in 1830.^[3][4] The name comes from the Ancient Greek nukt meaning nocturnal or night and ornis meaning bird.^[5] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2007 showed that the genus is basal and forms a sister group to the remaining members of the bee-eater family.^[6]

Like other bee-eaters, Nyctyornis species are colourful birds with long tails, long downturned bills and pointed wings. They are large bee-eaters (blue-bearded is the largest of all bee-eaters),^[7] predominantly green, with a face colour as indicated by the species' name. This colour extends on to the slightly hanging throat feathers to form the "beard".^[8]

The two Nyctyornis species are the only bee-eaters that lack an eye-stripe and that have bi-coloured beaks.^[6] Their calls also differ from those of other bee-eaters and are somewhat similar to the noises made by rollers.^[9] Their size and more rounded wings give a heavier flapping flight that is less graceful than that of members of the genus Merops.^[9]

In common with other bee-eaters, they predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air, but they have a rather different strategy. They hunt alone or in pairs, rather than in groups, and sit motionless for long periods before pursuing their prey.^[9] The blue-bearded bee-eater will also clamber in foliage for insects, and bees are sometimes attracted by the bright blue beard of a perched bird, presumably mistaking it for a flower.^[10] They nest in burrows tunneled into the side of sandy banks, but do not form colonies.^[11]