Ethiopian Bee-eater (Merops lafresnayii) - BirdLife species factsheet

Ethiopian Bee-eater Merops lafresnayii

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note

Merops variegatus and M. lafresnayii (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as M. variegatus following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2014	Least Concern
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Species attributes

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	22 g

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	962,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	3.12 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be frequent to common in prime habitat throughout its range (del Hoyo et al. 2001). The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident
Eritrea	extant	native	yes
Ethiopia	extant	native	yes
South Sudan	extant	native	yes
Sudan	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	resident
Altitude	1000 - 3200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(min) 1000 m

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Ethiopian Bee-eater Merops lafresnayii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/ethiopian-bee-eater-merops-lafresnayii on 24/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 24/11/2024.