It is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia where many populations are strongly migratory, and seen seasonally in many parts but breeding colonially in small areas across their range, mostly in river valleys, where they nest by tunneling into loamy sand banks.

This species is usually found near water and like other bee-eaters it predominantly eats flying insects, especially bees (as large as the Xylocopa sp.

The blue cheek patch is much smaller while the chestnut on the throat and breast darker and covering a larger area.

The parents guard the nest to prevent intraspecific brood parasitism and extra pair copulation.

[12] Based on the presence of spores of Nosema ceranae in the droppings of blue-tailed bee-eaters, it has been suggested that they may be capable of distributing the parasite to bees across a wide geographic range.

[16][8] Blue-tailed bee-eaters are seasonal in many parts of their range and are known to migrate diurnally en masse at some places like Tanjung Tuan (W. Malaysia) and Promsri Hill[17] (southern Thailand).

[19] The non-breeding ranges of the blue-cheeked bee-eater and blue-tailed overlap in some parts of Gujarat[20] and western peninsular India.

[21] The Blue-tailed bee-eater is listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.