page_title: List of birds of India
section_title: Bee-eaters
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of India / Bee-eaters
caption_attribution_description: English: Chestnut-headed bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti) from nilgiris
context_page_description: This is a list of the bird species of India and includes extant and recently extinct species recorded within the political limits of the Republic of India as defined by the Indian government are known to have 1349 species as of 2019, of which 78 are endemic to the country. 101 species are globally threatened. The Indian peafowl is the national bird of India. This list does not cover species in Indian jurisdiction areas such as Dakshin Gangotri and oceanic species are delineated by an arbitrary cutoff distance. The list does not include fossil bird species or escapees from captivity.
  This list's taxonomic treatment and nomenclature follow the conventions of the IOC World Bird List, version 10.2. This list also uses British English throughout. Any bird names or other wording follows that convention.
  The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fit within any of these categories.
  Accidental - Also known as a rarity, it refers to a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in India-typically less than ten confirmed records.
  Endemic - a species endemic to India
context_section_description: Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Meropidae
  The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are 7 species which have been recorded in India.
caption: Chestnut-headed bee-eater
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