BEE-EATER
One of the most colourful birds in the Mediterranean and wonderful to watch as a flock of them feed above you, swooping and calling. The adults have bright yellow throats, blueish underparts, yellowish-white shoulder patches and chestnut brown wing panels and crowns. A black eye stripe, complementing their bright red eyes and a central tail spike, best seen when they are in flight.
They nest in holes, in sandy ground, tunnelling into flat soil or steep banks. They prefer orchards (the fruits attract the bees and wasps), bushy areas, often by rivers, and open pastureland. They feed on large insects, bees and wasps, wiping away the stings against a branch, before swallowing them. I have seen them all along the South coast of Kefalonia, but most of my photos are from the colony, on the cliffs behind Mouda beach.
