Rollers

The Rollers occur in the warmer areas of the Old World (Europa, Asia, and Africa).

These crow-size birds have a colorful, mostly blue and brown plumage. Their two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one.

They mostly feed on insects, usually catching them in mid-air. They were named for the aerial acrobatics they perform when hunting insects.

They usually nest in tree cavities. The average nest consists of 2 – 4 eggs.

Lilac-breasted Roller, Coracias caudatus, Mombo, Okavango Delta, Botswana (8/24/09)

The eleven species are:

Genus Coracias

Genus Eurystomus: Eurystomus is a genus of the roller family of birds. It contains four broad-billed species, which breeds in Africa, Asia and Australasia.

Indian Roller

  • Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus
  • Blue-throated Roller Eurystomus gularis
  • Azure Roller Eurystomus azureus
  • Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis : AKA Broad-billed Roller: The Dollar Roller was named for the silver-dollar sized spots on its wings. It has a length of up to 30cm, and can be found in East Asia, from northern Australia to the Japanese archipelago.The bird is an insectivore with a love of beetles and often catches prey whilst flying. Juveniles have a darker beak which becomes more orange as it becomes mature.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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