# Somali bee-eater (Merops revoilii)

> The Somali bee-eater: what it looks like, where it lives, how it feeds and nests, why the IUCN thinks its numbers may be rising, and its records in Somalia since 1894.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/nature/somali-bee-eater/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

The Somali bee-eater (*Merops revoilii*) is a bird of the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is the smallest member of its genus ([Fry and Fry, *Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers*](https://books.google.com/books?id=U_XUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA264)). Oustalet described it in 1882 ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/2475409)).

## What it looks like

Males and females look alike: slender, with spiky feathers on the head. The crown is shiny green and the eyebrow blue. The upper body is green, the lower back and rump bright blue and the tail bluish-green. The cheeks, chin and throat are white and the breast and belly cinnamon-buff. The bill is black, the eyes reddish-brown and the legs dark grey. Unlike many bee-eaters, it has no dark trailing edge to the wings ([Fry and Fry](https://books.google.com/books?id=U_XUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA264)).

## Where it lives

Its range runs from southern Ethiopia through Somalia to northern and eastern Kenya. It lives in open acacia and commiphora scrub, dry grassland with scattered bushes, and steppe ([Wikipedia, Somali bee-eater, backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_bee-eater)).

## How it lives

It catches small flying insects in short dashes from a low perch. It is seen alone or in pairs. It nests in the banks of road cuttings and in the sides of deep wells. In Kenya it breeds from March to June ([Handbook of the Birds of the World, Somali Bee-eater](http://www.hbw.com/node/55840)).

The IUCN suggests that clearing of woodland and forest may be creating new open habitat for it, so its numbers may be rising ([IUCN Red List, *Merops revoilii*, 2016](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683710A92997263.en)).

## Records in Somali lands

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) holds 129 records of the Somali bee-eater from Somalia, dated from 1894 to 2026 ([GBIF occurrence search, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=2475409)). By type: 95 sightings by people, 33 museum specimens, 1 other record.

Records that name a region (101 of 129), by region: [Woqooyi Galbeed](/en/regions/woqooyi-galbeed/) 62, [Togdheer](/en/regions/togdheer/) 19, [Sanaag](/en/regions/sanaag/) 7, [Hiiraan](/en/regions/hiiraan/) 2, [Nugaal](/en/regions/nugaal/) 2, [Sool](/en/regions/sool/) 2, [Awdal](/en/regions/awdal/) 1, Banadir (Mogadishu) 1, [Galgaduud](/en/regions/galgaduud/) 1, Middle [Juba](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) 1, [Mudug](/en/regions/mudug/) 1, Middle Shabelle 1, [Lower Shabelle](/en/infrastructure/k50-airstrip/) 1 (same source).

The oldest dated record is a museum specimen from 1894, from a place recorded as "The Hand, S.E. of Berbera", held by the American Museum of Natural History ([GBIF record 858968342](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/858968342)).

The newest dated record is a sighting by a person from 2026, from Woqooyi Galbeed, held by iNaturalist ([GBIF record 6163414299](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/339065921)).

GBIF only holds what museums, scientists and observers have shared, so the counts show where the animal or plant has been recorded, not its full range.

## Red List status

The IUCN Red List category for the Somali bee-eater is **Least Concern** ([IUCN Red List assessment](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683710A92997263.en); [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/2475409)).

## Classification

| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Coraciiformes |
| Family | Meropidae |
| Genus | Merops |
| Species | *Merops revoilii* |

Scientific name with author: *Merops revoilii* Oustalet, 1882 ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/2475409)).

## Related pages

- [Birds of Somalia](/en/nature/birds-of-somalia/)

## Sources

- [IUCN Red List assessment](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683710A92997263.en)
- [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/2475409)
- [GBIF occurrence records, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=2475409)
- [Fry and Fry, Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers](https://books.google.com/books?id=U_XUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA264)
- [Wikipedia (backup)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_bee-eater)

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