Northern Carmine Bee-eater

Before 2000, the Northern Carmine Bee-eater was split into two subspecies. Morphological and biological differences were so rare, if not nonexistent, that now the species is monotypic. There is no sexual dimorphism between male and female, except that the tail streamers are slightly shorter in the female. The Northern Carmine Bee-eater is a large bee-eater with a long tail, the streamers corresponding to the two middle rectrices can reach up to 12 cm long. Vividly colored in scarlet and crimson, it is a delight to its observers and cannot be confused with another bee-eater. An untrained eye could possibly confuse it with the Carmine Bee-eater, but its range remains different. Only a few vagrant Carmine Bee-eaters, which remain rare, can meet our species in South Sudan. The Anglo-Saxons have also correctly separated these two species as Northern and Southern. Perched, the Northern Carmine Bee-eater has its head completely beryl green or blue back-to-light, which gradually becomes tinged with dark olive-turquoise at the level of the nape and throat. A thin black mask, rather thin around the lores, widens until the auricular covers. It stops precisely at the boundary of the head's blue. In profile this boundary forms a half crescent. The beak is black, slightly curved, long and massive, wide at its base and pointed at the tip. The iris is blood red or brown-red and the legs brownish black. The nape, mantle, chest and belly are pink-carmine. The scapulae are scarlet, the tertiaries are bluish green and the primaries and secondaries are brown with light dark blue edges. The back, rump and upper tail are pale sky blue. The rectrices are scarlet with blackish streamers.In flight and viewed from below, the wings are fawn, the tail is gray, the under-tail feathers are light blue and the chest is pink. When spread out, the tail takes the shape of an extended fan with two central streamers. On juveniles, dark spots are visible on the forehead and crown. The nape and upper mantle are brownish earthy and the lower part is red. The chin and throat feathers are dark gray, bordered in blue. The chest is pale pink, spotted with fawn, and the belly is very pale pink. The undertail feathers are pale grayish blue. The scapulars and tertiaries are light olive brown, bordered in blue. The rump is blue-gray. The wings and tail are mat scarlet, tinged with brown. The coverts are edged in pink. The rectrices are edged in greenish and it does not possess central streamers.