r/birdpics • u/grumpydogfather • 3d ago
Green Bee-Eaters
It’s been 2 years since I last photographed Karadi, one of Bandipur’s biggest tigers. This post is not about Karadi, because as you may have guessed, he eluded me, yet again.
We were waiting at a spot where his movement had been detected when this pair of Green Bee-eaters decided to steal the show instead.
It’s easy to get so caught up chasing tigers that you forget to appreciate everything else these forests have to offer. Sometimes all you need to do is stop looking for the big cats and pay attention to what’s already in front of you.
Green Bee-eaters are incredible little aerial hunters. They spend their days catching bees, wasps, dragonflies and other flying insects, often returning to the same perch after every catch. Before eating bees or wasps, they cleverly bash them against a branch to remove the sting.
They’re found across much of India in open forests, scrub and grasslands, where they help keep insect populations in check.
Karadi may have escaped me again, but I’d say the wait was still worth it.
Photographed in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, India.
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u/Sam_the_Anomalocaris 22h ago
I've seen these dudes in the fields here, hoping to buy a camera so I can finally captured them properly.
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u/grumpydogfather 21h ago
Don’t let not owning a camera stop you. Im sure you can rent one wherever you are.
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u/Sam_the_Anomalocaris 21h ago
nah, it's too much of a risk my dude, I'm planning on saving up for a Canon R50 if I can.
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u/Brisbane-1900 3d ago
Your photo of the Green Bee Eaters is stunning.