Meropidae (Bee-eaters). – Singapore has two species of bee-eater―the blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus) and
blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis). The former is a very common winter visitor while the latter is a common
resident as well as a rather uncommon winter visitor. These birds, as their names imply, specialise on bees, often caught
on the wing (Fig. 10). They also eat dragonflies as well as other insects, althouth they seldom eat ground insects.
The bird normally perches on a high vantage point where it can keep a lookout for flying insects. Once it spots an
insect, it sallies forth, catching and bringing it back to its perch to be processed. This involves striking it against the
branch to stun it and rubbing it against a hard surface to remove the sting and venom sac. Once the insect has been
properly processed, it is tossed in the air and immediately swallowed. Pellets have been found inside a nest chamber of
the blue-throated bee-eater (Wells, 1999) and under a winter roost of blue-tailed bee-eater (Medway & Wells, 1976).
The blue-tailed bee-eater was caught on camera regurgitating a pellet containing the indigestible remains of the insects
it ate (Fig. 11). The fresh pellet is blackish and about 1–3 cm long.
Ardeidae (Herons). – This family is represented by egrets, herons and bitterns. These birds are carnivorous, feeding on
live prey such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and small mammals. They also take aquatic invertebrates like insects,
molluscs, and crustaceans. Generally they swallow their prey whole. Their digestive system is extremely efficient and
the only materials that they cannot digest are the chitinous exoskeletons of insects and the keratin of mammal fur and
bird feathers (Martinez-Vilalta & Motis, 1992). So these are usually regurgitated as pellets. Marquiss & Leitch (2008)
reported a grey heron (Ardea cinerea) nestling casting pellets of bones and other undigested matter from the fish it was
fed with, and these included artifacts like nylon and fish hooks.
Local photographers have yet to document a heron casting a pellet. However, the striated heron (Butorides striatus) that
one of us reared (YCW) after the chick was picked up by a concerned member of the public, initially cast out pellets,