Relationships between birds and social insects include birds following ants, birds nesting close to active colonies of wasps or bees, and nesting inside termitaria. A little known relationship between birds and colonial insects is that of stingless bees (Meliponina) entering the nostrils of hawks and owls. Herein I report on a stingless bee entering the nostrils of the Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris), and on avoiding behaviours displayed by the same hawk species and a Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) in presence of stingless bees hovering in front of their faces. The bees probably were seeking mucus inside the raptors’ nostrils, as already reported for a few birds of prey. Avoiding behaviour seems a novelty in this relationship between raptors and bees. The role stingless bees play in the lives of some bird species remains little known, and merits closer attention by field ornithologists and apidolologist. © 2015, Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia. All rights reserved.233323326Altmann, J., Observational study of behaviour: Sampling methods (1974) Behaviour, 49 (3), pp. 227-267Brightsmith, D.J., Use of arboreal termitaria by nesting birds in the Peruvian Amazon (2000) The Condor, 102 (3), pp. 529-538Gehlbach, F.R., (2009) Eastern Screech Owl: Life History, Ecology, and Behavior in the Suburbs and Countryside, , The W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series, no 16. College Station, Texas A & M University PressLobato, D.N.C., Antonini, Y., Martins, R.P., Azeredo, R., Visita de abelhas a narinas de aves de rapina (Accipitridae e Strigidae): Mutualismo facultativo? (2007) Anais Do VIII Congresso De Ecologia Do Brasil, pp. 1-2. , Caxambu - MGMarks, J.S., Cunnings, R.J., Mikkola, H., Family Strigidae (Typical owls) (1999) Handbook of the Birds of the World, 5, pp. 76-242. , del Hoyo, J.Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J., Barcelona, Lynx EdicionsMyers, J.G., Nesting associations of birds with social insects (1935) Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, 83 (1), pp. 11-23Quinn, J.L., Ueta, M., Protective nesting associations in birds (2008) Ibis, 150, pp. 146-167Roubik, D.W., Obligate necrophagy in a social bee (1982) Science, 217 (4564), pp. 1059-1060Roubik, D.W., (1992) Ecology and Natural History of Tropical Bees, , Cambridge, Cambridge University PressSantos, G.M., Antonini, Y., The traditional knowledge on stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponina) used by the Enawene-Nawe tribe in western Brazil (2008) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 4, 19pSazima, I., D’Angelo, G., Associações de aves com insetos sociais: Um sumário no Sudeste do Brasil (2015) Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 105, pp. 333-338Willis, E.O., Oniki, Y., Birds and army ants (1978) Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 9, pp. 243-263