Blue-tailed bee-eaters flock to Xiamen, SE China's Fujian

A blue-tailed bee-eater swallows a butterfly in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Xiamen city in southeast China's Fujian Province recently received its first batch of blue-tailed bee-eaters, a wildlife species under national second-class protection in China, from Southeast Asia this year.

The colorful birds feed mainly on insects, including dragonflies, butterflies, bees, and beetles. They migrate from Southeast Asia to Xiamen in April every year, and stay in the city until October. Their main habitat in the city is the Wuyuanwan blue-tailed bee-eater nature reserve, which has lush flowering trees and fruit trees and can provide abundant food resources for birds.

In an effort to create a comfortable living environment for blue-tailed bee-eaters, the nature reserve has trimmed cliff faces and improved the environment of the surrounding areas in advance, according to a staff member of the nature reserve affairs center of the Xiamen bureau of natural resources and planning.

More than 50 blue-tailed bee-eaters have nested in the nature reserve, the staff member said.

Blue-tailed bee-eaters play in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Photo shows the nests of blue-tailed bee-eaters in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

A blue-tailed bee-eater chirps on a dead branch in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Bright-colored blue-tailed bee-eaters in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

A blue-tailed bee-eater eats an insect in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Two blue-tailed bee-eaters rest on top a cliff in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Blue-tailed bee-eaters play in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Photo shows a blue-tailed bee-eater perching on a tree branch in a nature reserve in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)