Editing Bee-eater (section)

==Description==
[[File:Merops bullockoides 1 Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|''Merops'' species such as the [[white-fronted bee-eater]] usually have a black bar through the eye.]]
The bee-eaters are [[Morphology (biology)|morphologically]] a fairly uniform group. They share many features with related Coraciiformes such as the kingfishers and rollers, being large-headed (although less so than their relatives), short-necked, brightly plumaged and short-legged. Their wings may be rounded or pointed, with the wing shape closely correlated with the species' preferred foraging habitat and [[bird migration|migratory]] tendencies. Shorter, rounder wings are found on species that are sedentary and make typically short foraging flights in denser forests and reed-beds. Those with more elongated wings are more migratory. All the bee-eaters are highly aerial; they take off strongly from perches, fly directly without undulations, and are able to change direction quickly, although they rarely hover.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

The [[flight feather]]s of the wing comprise 10 [[flight feather#primaries|primaries]], the outermost being very small, and 13 [[flight feather#secondaries|secondaries]], and there are 12 [[flight feather#rectrices|tail feathers]].<ref name="frybeeater29"/>

The [[beak|bill]]s of bee-eaters are curved, long and end in a sharp point. The bill can bite strongly, particularly at the tip, and it is used as a pair of [[forceps]] with which to snatch insects from the air and crush smaller prey. The short legs have weak feet, and when it is moving on the ground a bee-eater's gait is barely more than a shuffle. The feet have sharp claws used for perching on vertical surfaces and also for nest excavation.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

The [[plumage]] of the family is generally very bright and in most species is mainly or at least partially green, although the two [[carmine bee-eater (disambiguation)|carmine bee-eaters]] are primarily rose-coloured. Most of the ''Merops'' bee-eaters have a black bar through the eye and many have differently coloured throats and faces. The extent of the green in these species varies from almost complete in the [[green bee-eater]] to barely any green in the [[white-throated bee-eater]]. Three species, from equatorial Africa, have no green at all in their plumage, the [[black bee-eater]], the [[blue-headed bee-eater]] and the [[rosy bee-eater]]. Many species have elongated central tail feathers.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

There is little visible [[sexual dimorphism|difference between the sexes]] in most of the family, although in several species the [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]] is red in the males and brown-red in the females, and in species with tail-streamers these may be slightly longer in males. Both the European and red-bearded bee-eaters have sex-based differences in their plumage colour, and the female rainbow bee-eater has shorter tail streamers than the male, which terminate in a club-shape that he lacks.<ref name="hbwfamily" /> There may be instances where bee-eaters are sexually [[dichroism|dichromatic]] at the [[ultraviolet]] part of the colour spectrum, which humans cannot see. A study of [[blue-tailed bee-eater]] found that males were more colourful than females in UV light. Their overall colour was also affected by body condition, suggesting that there was a signalling component to plumage colour.<ref name="swwy" /> Juveniles are generally similar to adults, except for the two ''Nyctyornis'' species, in which the young have mainly green plumage.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

Bee-eaters have calls that are characteristic for each species. Most sound simple to the human ear, but show significant variability when studied in detail, carrying significant information for the birds.<ref name="hbwfamily" />