The Rainbow Bee-eater is a strikingly colourful, insectivorous bird and the only species of bee-eater in Australia. Distinguished by their vibrant plumage, elongated tail streamers, and agile aerial hunting, this species captures flying insects—particularly wasps and bees—mid-air with exceptional precision. Although immune to venom of their stinging prey, Rainbow Bee-eaters perform a specialised handling behaviour: striking the insect against a perch to remove the stinger and venom sac. Believed to mate for life, they cooperate in chick rearing and the excavation of horizontal nesting chamber burrows in sandy soils or riverbanks, making them the only Australian bird species known to nest underground. Found across most of mainland Australia, Rainbow Bee-eaters are highly migratory, moving northward after breeding to overwinter in northern Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia.
The Rainbow Bee-eater is a strikingly colourful, insectivorous bird and the only species of bee-eater in Australia. Distinguished by their vibrant plumage, elongated tail streamers, and agile aerial hunting, this species captures flying insects—particularly wasps and bees—mid-air with exceptional precision. Although immune to venom of their stinging prey, Rainbow Bee-eaters perform a specialised handling behaviour: striking the insect against a perch to remove the stinger and venom sac. Believed to mate for life, they cooperate in chick rearing and the excavation of horizontal nesting chamber burrows in sandy soils or riverbanks, making them the only Australian bird species known to nest underground. Found across most of mainland Australia, Rainbow Bee-eaters are highly migratory, moving northward after breeding to overwinter in northern Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia.
