> i'm from malaysia, i have problem with migratory bird, hundreds of them
> eating my bees when they return to my box in everning. normally its
> happen in mei till august. any help!!

If it is the same bird which we also call the rainbow bee eater and has the
scientific name (Merops ornatus) then I am afraid there is not much you can
do.  As you say it is a pest for you from May till August.  This is because
it is a migratory bird.  It will comes down to Australia about now and
migrates as far south as Victoria for our spring/summer and then goes back
north to Asia when autumn/winter comes to Australia.  There are however some
which stay in a fixed area but these are usually low in numbers.

I have seen hundreds of birds lined up on a fence swooping at bees.  Some
have tried shooting them, which is illegal in Australia, but it does not
seem to put a dent in the numbers.  Here we have to wait until they move
south or north depending on which way they are going.

I noticed a reply to put bird wire around your hives but that will not work
as the bee eaters catch the bees on the wing and will get them before they
get to the bird wire.

Ironically, there have been trials done in Darwin to use the regurgitated
pellets of these birds to examine for the presence of Asian bees (Apis
cerana).  The wings, which are examined, are regurgitated along with other
indigestible parts.  It works and there are papers on this currently being
refereed.  I have been privileged to read a proof copy in my capacity as
chairing the Quarantine Sub-committee here in Australia.  This work was
commenced after the incursion of Asian honey bees in Darwin in 1998.

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA