The Southern Carmine Bee-eater has reddish-pink plumage and long central tail streamers. It nests in colonies in burrows on river sandbanks and catches insects in flight.
Adults have bright reddish-pink plumage and elongated central tail feathers. Juveniles are duller and brownish pink.
Adults catch dragonflies, termites, and other insects in the air. In southern Africa they gather along river floodplains and nest in burrows in dry sandbanks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.