Merops superciliosus

The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) because of the extremely small size of its breeding population, which is estimated at less than 50 mature individuals. In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as Vulnerable (VU). The change in the species threat category reflects a decline of the population, which decreased from 50 to 100 pairs in the early 1990s to between 18 and 30 today. Nevertheless, in recent years the species was seen nesting in the Jordan Valley, in the Southern Arava and in the Western Negev, in sites not previously known. From the numbers of birds seen during the post-fledging period it is apparent that its numbers on the Jordanian side of the Jordan and Arava valleys are higher than on the Israeli side.

Habitats	Salt Marsh, Rural Areas, Humid Lowlands, Loess Ravines
Presence In Israel	Summer Breeder, Migrant
Nesting In Israel	Breeder
Migration Types	Long Range
Zoography Zones	Irano-Turanian, Sudano-Zambezian
Landscape Formations	Plains & Valleys, Wide Wadis, Rural Area
Vegetation Formations	Steppe, Herbaceous
Vegetation Densities	Low
Nest Locations	Mountainside
Diet Types	Invertebrate
Foraging Grounds	Aerial
Body Sizes	Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors	Pesticide Poisoning, Habitat Fragmentation

The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater is a rare summer breeder along the Jordan Valley and the Arava, between the Bet She’an Valley in the north to Grofit in the south. In the Ne’ot HaKikar and Sodom Salt Marsh area there are apparently a few breeding pairs (Yoav Perlman 2016 pers. comm.). About 5 pairs were seen along the Jordan River between Mehola and Jericho (Eli Haviv & Asaf Mayrose 2017, pers. comm.), 10-12 pairs were seen nesting in the Grofit area (Noam Weiss 2017, pers. comm.) and a single pair bred in Kerem-Shalom area (Eyal Shochat, pers. comm.). Thus, a rough estimate puts the breeding population in Israel at between about 18 and 30 pairs. Until the 1950s, the species was a relatively common breeder, in colonies of tens of pairs – in the Jordan, Bet She’an and Hula valleys, in the Golan Heights and the Zevulun Valley (Inbar 1975, Paz 1986, Shirihai 1996). During the 1960s, it disappeared from most of these regions, except for a few pairs in the Jordan and Bet She’an valleys. During the 1970s and 1980s there was a slight recovery, and 50-100 pairs were recorded breeding in the Jordan Valley, between Jericho and Bet She’an, some 10 pairs in the southern Golan and a single pair in Ne’ot HaKikar (Shirihai 1996).

No specific conservation measures have been taken for this species to date.

The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater was once a common summer breeder in the Northern Valleys and the Jordan Valley. Its population declined dramatically during the 1960s due to agricultural pesticide poisoning and the species became extremely rare. In recent years, it has been observed nesting along the Jordan Valley, the Arava and the Western Negev, including in sites from which it was not previously known, increasing the probability that the species population might grow and expand.

Breeding populations should be monitored. The main breeding area of the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater is along the Jordan River headwaters, an area that is not monitored regularly because of security issues.

• פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.

• Shirihai, H., 1996. The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.
• Symes, A. 2013. Species generation lengths. Unpublished, BirdLife International.
• Species page at Birdlife International