The African green bee-eater (Merops viridissimus) is a species of bird in the family Meropidae.

It is found throughout arid regions of Africa from Senegal east to Ethiopia, and has expanded its range north to Egypt over the past few decades.

However, in 2014, the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International again split them as distinct species.

A 2020 study found significant differences in morphology and voice between all three species, so they were also split from one another by the International Ornithologists' Union in 2021.

Due to this increasing population and it benefiting from human habitat modification, it is not thought to be under threat.