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The Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and 3 more countries. Open woods and rivers across sub-Saharan Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Little bee-eater lives

Open woods and rivers across sub-Saharan Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs100%

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

Conservation status

Hear the Little bee-eater

Recorded by Tony Archer (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC651027. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Little bee-eater

Where does the Little bee-eater live?

The Little bee-eater lives in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and 3 more countries. Open woods and rivers across sub-Saharan Africa.

What does the Little 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 Little bee-eater endangered?

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

More birds from Africa

• Village weaver
• Ascension frigatebird
• Bronze mannikin
• African paradise flycatcher
• Lesser striped swallow
• Black-headed oriole

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