The rollers are an Old World family of near passerine birds, related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights .

Description

Rollers resemble crows in size and build, ranging from 25 to 27 centimetres in length. They share the colourful appearance of those groups, blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one.

They are insect eaters, with Eurystomus species taking their prey on the wing, and those of the genus Coracias catching it on the ground. They often perch prominently whilst hunting, like giant shrikes.

These are birds of warm climates. They nest in an unlined tree-hole, and lay 2-4 eggs. The eggs hatch after 17-20 days, and the young remain in the nest for approximately another 30 days.

Species

The eleven species are:

FAMILY: CORACIIDAE

• Genus: Coracias
• European Roller Coracias garrulus
• Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinica
• Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudata
• Racquet-tailed Roller Coracias spatulata
• Rufous-crowned Roller Coracias naevia
• Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
• Temminck's Roller Coracias temminckii
• Blue-bellied Roller Coracias cyanogaster
• Genus: Eurystomus
• Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus
• Blue-throated Roller Eurystomus gularis
• Azure Roller Eurystomus azureus
• Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis

References

• Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers by Fry, Fry and Harris, ISBN 0-7136-8028-8

External links

• Roller videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• The distribution, status and places to see the Roller in northeast Spain
• Roller From Turkey