The purple bearded bee-eater is a bee eater species found only on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It sits in its own Genus of Meropogon. While its common name is simply a description, its scientific name comes memorializes the person who first collected one –  Eltio Alegondas Forsten (1811–1843) who collected in the East Indies between 1838 and 1842.

It grows to 25-26cm long, though its tail can grow up to 68cm long.

During the dry season, the birds move inland to breed, but come the wet season they return to the coast. While, like other bee-eaters, they do burrow into sandy banks for their nests, they do not live in colonies.

They generally hunt alone, or in pairs.

There are both blood and feather parasites for this specific species.