BUSY WITH THE BEES … A blue-bearded bee-eater gently perched on a flowering tree branch in Sylhet’s Satchhari forest. These fascinating birds are found in much of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, and prefer living in densely forested areas. Their appearance and food habits are quite apparent in the name – with elongated blue feathers running down the throat and an appetite for mostly bees, along with other flying insects. How they get their food is even more interesting, as they usually target hives and provoke the bees to come out and attack them. Once the bees are out, they used their curved beaks to grab hold of them and hit and rub the insect on a hard surface to stun them and remove toxins.