Red-Throated Bee-Eater

In Murchison Falls NP in Uganda we were crossing the bridge over the Victoria Nile near the Paraa Lodge when our guide, William, stopped the vehicle on the side of the bridge to show me a red-throated bee-eater. We were far enough along on the bridge to have passed over the river itself and to have trees growing along the side and power lines, both of which had perching birds. I saw several of the bee-eaters and got photos I was very happy with. 

The upper parts of the bee-eater are green and the throat is red, although about 1% of the birds in Nigeria have a yellow throat. The hind neck, breast and underparts are buff, the lower belly and under-tail coverts and thighs are blue. Birds in the subspecies frenatus, generally found east of the Central African Republic, have a blue forehead, eyebrows and cheek line, while the subspecies bulocki have green in the same places. 

They are found in a relatively thin band across north-central Africa, from Senegal and Gambia in the west to a small portion of Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia in the east. 

Range of red-throated bee-eater from Wikipedia.

They nest in tunnels that are excavated after the rainy season and a colony may have up to 50 nests. They remain in the nesting area all year.