Editing Bee-eater (section)

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Rainbow Bee-eaters Juffs.JPG|thumb|[[Rainbow bee-eater]]s, a ''[[Merops (genus)|Merops]]'' species]]
The bee-eaters were first named as a scientific group by the French [[polymath]] [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz]], who created the bird subfamily Meropia for these birds in 1815.<ref name="raff"/><ref name="bock"/> The name, now modernised as Meropidae, is derived from ''Merops'', the [[Ancient Greek]] for "bee-eater",<ref name="job"/> and the English term "bee-eater" was first recorded in 1668, referring to the European species.<ref name="oed"/>

The bee-eaters have been considered to be related to other families, such as the [[Coraciidae|roller]]s, [[hoopoe]]s and [[kingfisher]]s, but ancestors of those families diverged from the bee-eaters at least forty million years ago, so any relationship is not close.<ref name="hbwfamily" /> The scarcity of [[fossil]]s is unhelpful. Bee-eater fossils from the [[Pleistocene]] (2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago) have been found in Austria, and there are [[Holocene]] (from 11,700 years ago to present) specimens from Israel and Russia, but all have proved to be of the extant [[European bee-eater]].<ref name="frybeeater195"/> Opinions have varied as to the bee-eater's nearest relatives. In 2001, Fry considered the kingfishers to be the most likely,<ref name="hbwfamily" /> whereas a large study published in 2008 found that bee-eaters are [[sister group|sister]] to all other [[Coraciiformes]] (rollers, [[ground roller]]s, [[tody|todies]], [[motmot]]s and kingfishers).<ref name= hackett/> A 2009 book supported Fry's contention,<ref name= mayr/> but then a later study in 2015 suggested that the bee-eaters are sister to the rollers.<ref name= prum/> The 2008 and 2015 papers both linked the kingfishers to the New World motmots.<ref name= hackett/><ref name= prum/>

More recent [[molecular phylogenetic]] studies have confirmed that the bee-eaters are more closely related to the rollers and ground rollers than they are to the todies, motmots and kingfishers. The relationship between the families is shown the cladogram below.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Kuhl | first1=H. | last2=Frankl-Vilches | first2=C. | last3=Bakker | first3=A. | last4=Mayr | first4=G. | last5=Nikolaus | first5=G. | last6=Boerno | first6=S.T. | last7=Klages | first7=S. | last8=Timmermann | first8=B. | last9=Gahr | first9=M. | date=2021 | title=An unbiased molecular approach using 3′-UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life | journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution | volume=38 | issue=1 | pages=108–127 | doi=10.1093/molbev/msaa191 | doi-access=free | pmid=32781465 | pmc=7783168 | hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-B72A-C | hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Stiller | first1=J. | display-authors=etal | year=2024 | title=Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes | journal=Nature | volume=629 | issue= 8013| pages=851–860 | doi=10.1038/s41586-024-07323-1 | doi-access=free | pmid=38560995 | pmc=11111414 | bibcode=2024Natur.629..851S }}</ref> The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by [[Frank Gill (ornithologist)|Frank Gill]], [[Pamela C. Rasmussen]] and David Donsker on behalf of the [[International Ornithological Committee]] (IOC).<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=December 2023 | title=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=17 June 2024 }}</ref>
{{Clade | style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%
|label1=Coraciiformes
|1={{clade
   |1={{clade
      |1='''Meropidae''' – bee-eaters (31 species)
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Brachypteraciidae]] – ground rollers (5 species)
         |2=[[Coraciidae]] – rollers (13 species)
         }}
      }}
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Todidae]] – todies (5 species)
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Momotidae]] – motmots (14 species)
         |2=[[Alcedinidae]] – kingfishers (118 species)
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

The bee-eaters are generally similar in appearance, although they are normally divided into three [[genus|genera]]. ''[[Nyctyornis]]'' comprises two large species with long throat feathers, the [[blue-bearded bee-eater]] and the [[red-bearded bee-eater]], both of which have rounded wings, a ridged [[culmen (bird)|culmen]], feathered nostrils and a relatively sluggish lifestyle. The [[purple-bearded bee-eater]] is the sole member of ''Meropogon'', which is intermediate between ''Nyctyornis'' and the typical bee-eaters, having rounded wings and a "beard", but a smooth culmen and no nostril feathers. All the remaining species are normally retained in the single genus ''[[Merops (genus)|Merops]]''. There are close relationships within this genus, for example the [[red-throated bee-eater]] and the [[white-fronted bee-eater]] form a [[superspecies]], but formerly suggested genera, such as ''Aerops'', ''Melittophagus'', ''Bombylonax'' and ''Dicrocercus'',<ref name=peters/> have not been generally accepted for several decades since a 1969 paper united them in the current arrangement.<ref name="hbwfamily" /><ref name="fry69"/>

===Species in taxonomic order===
{{cladogram|title=Evolutionary relationships
|caption=[[Phylogenetic tree]] (maximum parsimony) based on a 2007 study. ''Nyctyornis athertoni'' and ''Merops revoilii'' were not included in the study. The placement of ''Meropogon'' is unclear.<ref name="phylo" />
|cladogram=
{{clade|style=font-size:75%;line-height:75%
 |1=''Nyctyornis''
 |2={{clade
  |1={{clade
   |1=''Merops bullockoides''
   |2=''M. bulocki''
  }}
  |2={{clade 
   |1={{clade
    |state1=dashed
    |1=''Meropogon forsteni''
    |2=''Merops breweri''
   }}
   |2={{clade
    |1={{clade
     |1=''M. gularis''
     |2=''M. muelleri''
    }}
    |2={{clade
     |1=''M. hirundineus''
     |2={{clade
      |1=''M. oreobates''
      |2={{clade
       |1=''M. pusillus''
       |2=''M. variegatus''
      }}
     }}
    }}
   }}
   |3={{clade
    |1={{clade
     |1={{clade
      |1=''M. boehmi''
     }}
     |2={{clade
      |1=''M. albicollis''
      |2={{clade
       |1=''M. nubicus''
       |2={{clade
        |1=''M. malimbicus''
        |2={{clade
         |1={{clade
          |1=''M. orientalis''
          |2={{clade
           |1=''M. leschenaulti''
           |2=''M. viridis''
          }}
         }}
         |2={{clade
          |1=''M. philippinus''
          |2={{clade
           |1={{clade
            |1=''M. apiaster''
            |2=''M. ornatus''
           }}
           |2={{clade
            |1=''M. persicus''
            |2=''M. superciliosus''
           }}
          }}
         }}
        }}
       }}
      }}
     }}
    }}
   }}
  }}
 }}
}}
}}

The bee-eater family contains the following species.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Genus   !! Living Species
|-
|[[File:Nyctyornis amictus - Kaeng Krachan.jpg|175px]]||'''''[[Nyctyornis]]''''' {{small|Jardine & Selby, 1830}}||
* [[Red-bearded bee-eater]], ''Nyctyornis amictus''
* [[Blue-bearded bee-eater]], ''Nyctyornis athertoni''
|-
|[[File:Purple-bearded Bee-eater - Sulawesi MG 5287.jpg|175px]]||'''''Meropogon''''' {{small|Bonaparte, 1850}}||
* [[Purple-bearded bee-eater]], ''Meropogon forsteni''
|-
|[[File:Merops bulocki frenatus.jpg|175px]]||'''''[[Merops (genus)|Merops]]''''' {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}}||
* [[Little bee-eater]], ''Merops pusillus''
* [[Blue-cheeked bee-eater]], ''Merops persicus''
* [[Green bee-eater|Asian green bee-eater]], ''Merops orientalis''
*[[African green bee-eater]], ''Merops viridissimus''
*[[Arabian green bee-eater]], ''Merops cyanophyrs''
* [[White-throated bee-eater]], ''Merops albicollis''
* [[Swallow-tailed bee-eater]], ''Merops hirundineus''
* [[Blue-tailed bee-eater]], ''Merops philippinus''
* [[Black bee-eater]], ''Merops gularis''
* [[Blue-headed bee-eater]], ''Merops muelleri''
* [[Blue-moustached bee-eater]], ''Merops mentalis''
* [[Red-throated bee-eater]], ''Merops bulocki''
* [[White-fronted bee-eater]], ''Merops bullockoides''
* [[Blue-breasted bee-eater]], ''Merops variegatus''
* [[Ethiopian bee-eater]], ''Merops lafresnayii''
* [[Cinnamon-chested bee-eater]], ''Merops oreobates''
* [[Black-headed bee-eater]], ''Merops breweri''
* [[Somali bee-eater]], ''Merops revoilii''
* [[Böhm's bee-eater]], ''Merops boehmi''
* [[Blue-throated bee-eater]], ''Merops viridis''
* [[Rufous-crowned bee-eater]], ''Merops americanus''
* [[Olive bee-eater]], ''Merops superciliosus''
* [[Rainbow bee-eater]], ''Merops ornatus''
* [[European bee-eater]], ''Merops apiaster''
* [[Chestnut-headed bee-eater]], ''Merops leschenaulti''
* [[Rosy bee-eater]], ''Merops malimbicus''
* [[Northern carmine bee-eater]], ''Merops nubicus''
* [[Southern carmine bee-eater]], ''Merops nubicoides''
|-
|}

The Asian green bee-eater, African green bee-eater, and Arabian green bee-eater were previously considered to be a single species, and are still treated as such by some authorities.<ref name="hbwasianb" /><ref name="hbwarabb" /><ref name="hbwafricanb" />

A 2007 [[nuclear DNA|nuclear]] and [[mitochondrial DNA]] study produced a possible [[phylogenetic tree]], although the position of the purple-bearded bee-eater seems anomalous, in that it appears amongst ''Merops'' species.<ref name="phylo" />