LC
Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus



Taxonomy

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
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency low
Land-mass type Average mass 15 g
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 22,000,000 km2
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size unknown poor estimated 2009
Population trend decreasing - suspected -
Generation length 2.58 years - - -

Population justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to spraying of pesticides for tsetse fly control (del Hoyo et al. 2001).

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to spraying of pesticides for tsetse fly control (del Hoyo et al. 2001).


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Angola extant native yes
Benin extant native yes
Botswana extant native yes
Burkina Faso extant native yes
Burundi extant native yes
Cameroon extant native yes
Central African Republic extant native yes
Chad extant native yes
Congo extant native yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the extant native yes
Côte d'Ivoire extant native yes
Eritrea extant native yes
Eswatini extant native yes
Ethiopia extant native yes
Gabon extant native yes
Gambia extant native yes
Ghana extant native yes
Guinea extant native yes
Guinea-Bissau extant native yes
Kenya extant native yes
Liberia extant native yes
Malawi extant native yes
Mali extant native yes
Mauritania extant native yes
Mozambique extant native yes
Namibia extant native yes
Niger extant native yes
Nigeria extant native yes
Rwanda extant native yes
Senegal extant native yes
Sierra Leone extant native yes
Somalia extant native yes
South Africa extant native yes
South Sudan extant native yes
Sudan extant native
Tanzania extant native yes
Togo extant native yes
Uganda extant native yes
Zambia extant native yes
Zimbabwe 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 Arable Land suitable resident
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland suitable resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable resident
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) suitable resident
Savanna Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Moist suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Shrub Dominated Wetlands suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 5000 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture international

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/little-bee-eater-merops-pusillus on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.