The Etosha House is probably the best of Basel's themed houses - themed both on Namibia and on the food web and animal nutrition.
The bee-eater exhibit is one of the most simple yet brilliant exhibits I have ever seen. The main species is large flock of Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, with nicely landscaped indoor and outdoor enclsoures and good numbers present these would be a great exhibit on their own. The brilliance lies in siting a Honey Bee hive inside the building with the exit adjacent to the bee-eater aviary. This has the effect that the aviary is packed full of bees as well as bee-eaters, and that visitors get to watch these stunning birds catching the bees in mid-flight, bashing them against branches to remove the sting, then gulping them dowm unceremoniously and starting after the next one. Absolutely fascinating to watch and, of course, a wonderful education tool (that doesn't even need you to read anything to get the message).
Here, a Northern Carmine Bee-eater repeatedly thrashes its prey to disable its defences!
