Nyctyornis

{{Short description|Genus of birds}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Nyctyornis_athertoni.jpg

| image_caption = Blue-bearded bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni)

| taxon = Nyctyornis

| authority = Jardine & Selby, 1830

| type_species = Merops amictus{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=88 |title= Momotidae |author= |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-25}}

| type_species_authority = Temminck, 1824

| subdivision = See text

}}

Nyctyornis is a genus of the bee-eaters, near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. There are just two members of this group, which occur in tropical south and southeastern Asia.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2016 | title=Todies, motmots, bee-eaters, hoopoes, wood hoopoes & hornbills | work=World Bird List Version 6.4 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/todies/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=23 October 2016 }}

class="wikitable"
Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
120px	Nyctyornis amictus	Red-bearded bee-eater	Southeast Asia
120px	Nyctyornis athertoni	Blue-bearded bee-eater	Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia

The genus Nyctyornis was introduced by the naturalists William Jardine and Prideaux John Selby in 1830.{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1945 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=238 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480249 }}{{ cite book | last1=Jardine | first1=William | author1-link=Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet | last2=Selby | first2=Prideaux John | author2-link=Prideaux John Selby | year=1830 | title=Illustrations of Ornithology | volume=2 | place=Edinburgh | publisher=W.H. Lizars | at=Addenda | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39770170 }} The name comes from the Ancient Greek nukt meaning nocturnal or night and ornis meaning bird.{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher= Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n277 277] }} A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2007 showed that the genus is basal and forms a sister group to the remaining members of the bee-eater family.{{ cite journal | last1=Marks | first1=B.D. | last2=Weckstein | first2=J.D. | last3=Moyle | first3=R.G. | year=2007 | title=Molecular phylogenetics of the bee-eaters (Aves: Meropidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=45 | issue=1 | pages=23–32 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.004 | pmid=17716922| bibcode=2007MolPE..45...23M }}

Like other bee-eaters, Nyctyornis species are colourful birds with long tails, long downturned bills and pointed wings. They are large bee-eaters (blue-bearded is the largest of all bee-eaters),{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|p=242}} predominantly green, with a face colour as indicated by the species' name. This colour extends on to the slightly hanging throat feathers to form the "beard".{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|pp=241-244}}

The two Nyctyornis species are the only bee-eaters that lack an eye-stripe and that have bi-coloured beaks. Their calls also differ from those of other bee-eaters and are somewhat similar to the noises made by rollers. Their size and more rounded wings give a heavier flapping flight that is less graceful than that of members of the genus Merops.{{ cite book | last=Fry | first=Hilary | year=2001 | chapter=Family Meropidae (Bee-eaters) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=6: Mousebirds to Hornbills | place=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-87334-30-6 | pages=286–325 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0006unse/page/286/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}

In common with other bee-eaters, they predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air, but they have a rather different strategy. They hunt alone or in pairs, rather than in groups, and sit motionless for long periods before pursuing their prey. The blue-bearded bee-eater will also clamber in foliage for insects, and bees are sometimes attracted by the bright blue beard of a perched bird, presumably mistaking it for a flower.{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|p=243}} They nest in burrows tunneled into the side of sandy banks, but do not form colonies.{{sfn|Fry|Fry|Harris|1992|pp=242, 244}}