Daily activity at nests of the European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster)

During the breeding seasons 1985-1986, we studied the daily activity of adult bee-eaters by direct observations at four nests and by automatic recordings of three nests. During the digging and incubation phases, the adults' movements were scarce and concentrated during the morning, but in the chick-rearing stage they were high and reached a peak at noon and in the early afternoon. Among nests there were significant differences in the amount of. adults' movements during all the breeding phases. The start of daily activity and the rate of the adults' movements to the nests were strongly related to air temperature.