Meropidae

Meropidae is the bee-eater family of insectivorous birds, order Coraciiformes, comprising three genera and thirty one species. Bee-eaters occur mainly in Africa and Asia, with some species also found in southern Europe, Australia and New Guinea. The family is marked by richly colored, usually predominantly green plumage similar between males and females, slender bodies, elongated central tail feathers, and long down-turned bills. Bee-eaters feed on flying insects, especially bees and wasps caught on the wing from an open perch, and remove the stingers by repeatedly striking and rubbing the prey against a hard surface before eating it.