ROOSTING BEHAVIOUR OF THE RAINBOW BEE-EATER Merops ornatus IN SUBURBAN DARWIN
| Posted: |
22/06/2021 |
| Author(s): |
Angela M. Profke, Glenn A. Bellis |
The Rainbow Bee-eater
Merops omatus is a dry season migrant to Darwin . A study of their roosting habits
in suburban Darwin during the dry season over three successive years yielded a total of 13 communal roosts,
most of which were loc ated by following birds just prior to dusk. The approximate number of birds in each roost
and the area over which these birds travelled to forage was estimated and from this an estimate of a density of
0.22 birds ha·• in the northern suburbs of Darwin was extrapolated. The location of roosts was generally
geographically stable both within and between seasons. Rainbow Bee-eaters were observed sharing a roost tree
with six other species of bird. The gradual decline of one roost from 320 to no birds, as they migrated south at
the end of the season, provided some evidence of group cohesion of foraging and migrating birds.
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