The brilliantly colored Rainbow Bee-eater is the only member of the family Meropidae found in Australia. Here they are a common species and can be found during the summer in un-forested areas in most of southern Australia and Tasmania, however they are becoming increasingly rare in Suburban parks. They migrate north during the winter into northern Australia, New Guinea, and some of the southern islands of Indonesia.
Like all bee-eaters, Rainbow Bee-eaters are very social birds. When they are not breeding they roost together in large groups in dense undergrowth or large trees. These birds mostly eat flying insects, but, as their name implies, they have a real taste for bees. Rainbow bee-eaters are always watching for flying insects, and can spot a potential meal up to 150 feet away. Even though rainbow bee-eaters are actually immune to the stings of bees and wasps, upon capturing a bee they will rub the insect's stinger against their perch to remove it, closing their eyes to avoid being squirted with poison from the ruptured poison sac. Bee-eaters can eat several hundred bees a day.
A photo of Merops ornatus in flight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rainbowbeeeater.jpg
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