The blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus) is a species of bee-eater that breeds in Northern Africa and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations are resident year-round in the Sahel. This species occurs as a rare vagrant north of its breeding range, with most vagrants occurring in Italy and Greece.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and persicus is Latin for "Persian".
Two subspecies of blue-cheeked bee-eater are accepted:
- Merops persicus persicus - Breeds in Asia, winters in East and Southern Africa.
- Merops persicus chrysocercus - Breeds in North Africa, winters in West Africa.
This species is closely related to blue-tailed bee-eater, M. philippinus of East Asia, and the olive bee-eater of Africa, and has been treated as being the same species (conspecific).