The European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a species of bird belonging to the Meropidae family. Because of the effect it has on arid environments, some authors consider it to be an ecosystem builder. It appears to be increasingly common in southern France, Spain and Italy. In the Pyrénées-Orientales region, the European Bee-eater can be found on the Roussillon plain along rivers and streams, and in the foothills of the Corbières, Aspres and Albères.
It can also be found in the valleys of the Saône, Doubs, Loire, Allier and Creuse rivers, in Touraine, Corsica, Brittany (Baie d'Audierne) and even occasionally in the Paris region and Picardy, and even in Germany, where it has nested successfully, in Great Britain and Scandinavia. It can also be found in southern Switzerland, notably in the canton of Valais, where it spends its summer days. In August 2015, a nest was discovered for the first time in ten years in Belgium, on a building site in Harelbeke, West Flanders.