European Roller
A species of Typical Rollers Scientific name : Coracias garrulus Genus : Typical Rollers
European Roller, A species of Typical Rollers
Botanical name: Coracias garrulus
Genus: Typical Rollers
Description
The European roller is a stocky bird, the size of a jackdaw at 29–32 cm in length with a 52–58 cm wingspan; it is mainly blue with an orange-brown back. Rollers often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrikes, whilst watching for the large insects, small reptiles, rodents and frogs that they eat. The diet of adult rollers is dominated by Coleoptera, whereas nestlings mostly eat Orthoptera, such as grasshoppers and bush crickets. This species is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blue contrasting with black flight feathers. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult. The display of this bird is like that of a lapwing, with the twists and turns that give this species its English name. It nests in an unlined tree or cliff hole, and lays up to six eggs. The call is a harsh crow-like sound. It gives a raucous series of calls when nervous. 
Size
32 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Blue
Orange
Cyan
Life Expectancy
9 years
Feeding Habits
European Roller preys from perches, targeting large insects, small reptiles, rodents, and frogs. Adults favor beetles, while nestlings primarily consume grasshoppers and crickets. This bird species has a predatory behavior similar to shrikes.
Habitat
European Roller typically dwells in warm, open regions with scattered trees, favoring sunny lowlands. It inhabits up to 1000 m elevation in Central Europe, 2300 m in Morocco, and even 3100 m in Kyrgyzstan. Its preferred habitats include oak and pine woodlands with clearings, orchards, mixed farmlands, broad river valleys, and plains with occasional trees. On African wintering grounds, european Roller occupies dry wooded savannas and bushy plains, adapting to various landscapes such as sisal fields, montane forest clearings, and savanna woodlands up to 1500 m elevation.
Dite type
Omnivorous
Migration Overview
The advent of sufficiently lightweight tracking technology has facilitated several recent studies of roller migration, providing new information on the non-breeding sites used by rollers from different breeding populations. Individuals from south-west European populations migrate to south-west Africa (Angola, Namibia, and Botswana), with French and north-Spanish birds taking a direct southerly route across the Sahara, while Portuguese and south-Spanish birds take a more westerly route around the west African coast. Rollers from eastern European populations also spend the winter period in southern Africa, but further east in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. The Sahel savannah region immediately south of the Sahara Desert (particularly the area around Lake Chad) appears to be important for rollers from many populations as an autumn re-fuelling site, and Latvian and other north and north-eastern populations migrate northwards via the Arabian Peninsula in spring. Individuals from different breeding populations use distinct but overlapping winter sites; there is a good correlation between the longitude of individual breeding and non-breeding sites, suggesting parallel migration. In the east, the northernmost breeders (from Latvia) tend to winter south of the southernmost breeders (from Cyprus) - this suggests a pattern of 'leap-frog' migration.
General Info
Distribution Area
The European roller is a bird of warmer regions. The nominate subspecies breeds in northern Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, in southern and east-central Europe, and eastwards through northwestern Iran to southwestern Siberia. The subspecies C. g. semenowi breeds from Iraq and southern Iran east through Kashmir and southern Kazakhstan to Xinjiang. The European range was formerly more extensive, but there has been a long-term decline in the north and west, with extinction as a nesting bird in Sweden and Germany. The European roller is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara in two distinct regions, from Senegal east to Cameroon and from Ethiopia west (with observations in the Degua Tembien mountains) to Congo and south to South Africa. Some populations migrate to Africa through India. A collision with an aircraft over the Arabian Sea has been recorded. It is a bird of warm, dry, open country with scattered trees, preferring lowlands, but occurs up to 1000 m (3300 ft) in Europe and 2000 m (6600 ft) in Morocco. Oak and pine woodlands with open areas are prime breeding habitat, but farms, orchards and similar areas with mixed vegetation are also used. In Africa, a similarly wide range of dry, open land with trees is used. It winters primarily in dry, wooded savanna and bushy plains, where it typically nests in tree holes.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
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