Bee-eaters remove dead nestling from nest

On 10. August 2023 we noticed a dead nestling in the entrance of a nest of European Bee-eaters / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster) in a colony in Frauenkirchen, Austria. We tried to remove it, but it was still deep enough in the tunnel that it couldn’t be reached. There were more, live nestlings in this nest, still being fed by the last couple present in the breeding colony (all the others had already left). When we returned a few minutes later, the dead nestling was lying right at the nest entrance. Apparently the parents had pulled it outside by themselves.

Dead Bee-eater nestling, pulled to the nest entrance by the adults