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Key information: The colourful Bee-eater will make its presence known with its distinctive ‘prut – prut’ call. It is very colourful and so, easy to identify. It can be seen flying in small flocks or sitting with other Bee-eaters on electricity wires from which it looks out for insects. It passes through Cyprus during migration, but a small number stays here in the summer to breed.

Length: 25 – 29 cm

Habitat: Farmland, wetlands

When they can be seen: Autumn, spring, summer

What they eat: Invertebrates

In Cyprus: Can be seen all over the island and in great numbers at Cape Greco and Akrotiri Peninsula during migration

Status: Passage migrant, migrant breeder

Illustration by Paschalis Dougalis