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Carmine Bee-eaters are found in Africa from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east. Outside of the breeding season they migrate south to Kenya, Zaire, and Tanzania.
The Bee-eater family is believed to have arisen in Southeast Asia rain forests and spread to Africa.
There are two species of Carmine Bee-eaters, Carmine Bee-eaters (M. nubicus) and Southern Carmine Bee-eaters (M. nubicoides), that may have diverged from a common ancestor about 13,000 years ago due to habitat fragmentation caused by the ice ages.
Bee-eaters eat flying insects including bees, grasshoppers and locust. They nest in large colonies in cliffs, usually near river banks, where they dig long tunnels with their bills.
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Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides)
