The American bee-eater (Merops americanus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is the only known New World bee-eater species. It breeds throughout Mexico and in southern and central United States. Except for the resident southern populations, the species is strongly migratory, wintering in Central or South America. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its usual range, with occasional breeding in northern United States and, rarely, Canada. This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It has brown and yellow upper parts, whilst the wings are dark greyish-blue and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 27–29 cm (10.6–11.4 inches), including the two elongated central tail feathers. Sexes are alike. Female tends to have greener rather than gold feathers on shoulders. Non-breeding plumage is much duller and with a blue-green back and no elongated central tail feathers. Juvenile resembles a non-breeding adult, but with less variation in the feather colours. Adults begin to moult in June or July and complete the process by August or September. There is a further moult into breeding plumage during the winter in Mexico. These bee-eaters are gregarious—nesting colonially in sandy banks, preferably near river shores, usually at the beginning of May. They make a relatively long tunnel, in which they lay five to eight spherical white eggs around the beginning of June. Both male and female care for the eggs, which they brood for about three weeks. They also feed and roost communally. During courtship, the male feeds large items to the female while eating the small ones himself. Most males are monogamous, but occasional bigamy has been encountered. Their typical call is a distinctive, mellow, liquid and burry prreee or prruup. This bird breeds in open country in warmer climates. As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps, and hornets. They catch insects in flight, in sorties from an open perch. Before eating a bee, the American bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It can eat around 250 bees a day. The most important prey item in their diet is Hymenoptera, mostly the native honey bees and the nonnative European honey bee. A study in California found that these comprise 69.4% to 82% of the American bee-eaters' diet. Their impact on bee populations, however, is small. They eat less than 1% of the worker bees in areas where they live. A study found that American bee-eaters "convert food to body weight more efficiently if they are fed a mixture of bees and dragonflies than if they eat only bees or only dragonflies." Like some other bee-eaters, the American bee-eater has benefited from forest clearance and ranching by humans. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN.