About the feeding of bee-eater Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758 in middle reaches of Buzuluk (Volgograd region)

In 2016 Bee-eater Merops apiaster feeding stadied in two nesting colonies in the middle reaches of the Buzuluk river (Volgograd region). In collected 252 pellets identified 2384 instances of food items. 57.2% of them were Hymenoptera, 32,7% - Coleoptera, 4.2% - Odonata, 4.0% - Tabanidae. The similarity of food spectra between colonies (Chekanovsky-Sørensen similarity index) was 70.9%. The results are compared with similar data obtained by the authors earlier in other areas of the Khoper basin.