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The Blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus) is a bird found in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia. Open land near water across South and Southeast Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Blue-tailed bee-eater lives

Open land near water across South and Southeast Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Blue-tailed bee-eater

Recorded by Geoff Carey (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC741383. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Blue-tailed bee-eater

Where does the Blue-tailed bee-eater live?

The Blue-tailed bee-eater lives in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia. Open land near water across South and Southeast Asia.

What does the Blue-tailed bee-eater eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Blue-tailed bee-eater endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Asia

• Common hawk-cuckoo
• Oriental darter
• Painted stork
• White-browed bulbul
• Brahminy starling
• Yellow-vented bulbul

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.