Roller
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The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, 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[1].
Rollers resemble crows in size and build, ranging from 25 to 27 centimetres in length. They share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating.[2] The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one. Their calls are "repeated short, gruff caws"[2].
They are insect eaters, with Eurystomus species taking their prey on the wing, and those of the genus Coracias catching it on the ground.[2] They often perch prominently whilst hunting, like giant shrikes.
These are birds of warm climates. They are monogamous and nest in an unlined hole in a tree or in masonry, and lay 2–4 eggs in the tropics, 3–6 at higher latitudes. The eggs, which are white, hatch after 17–20 days, and the young remain in the nest for approximately another 30 days.[1][2]
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[edit] Morphology and appearance
The rollers are similar in general morphology to their relatives in the order Coraciiformes, having large heads on short necks, bright plumage, weak feet and short legs. The weakness of the feet and legs is relfected in their behaviour, rollers do not hop or move along perches and seldom use their feet other than for occasional lurching leaps along the ground pursing escaping prey. The bill is robust, and is shorter yet broader in the genus Eurystomus, sometimes known as the broad-billed rollers. The broad-billed rollers have brightly coloured bills, whereas those of the Coracias (or true) rollers are black. Other differences between the two genera are in wing length; the more aerial Eurystomus rollers have longer wings (and shorter feet still) than the Coracias rollers, this reflects differences in their foraging ecology.[3]
[edit] Species
The eleven species are:
- Genus: Coracias
- European Roller Coracias garrulus
- Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinica
- Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus
- 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
[edit] References
- ^ a b Forshaw, J. & Kemp, A. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph. ed. Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 145–147. ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
- ^ a b c d Fry, C. Hilary (2003). "Rollers". in Perrins, Christopher. The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. pp. 380–381. ISBN 1-55297-777-3.
- ^ Fry, C (2001), "Family Coraciidae (Rollers)", in del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi, Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6, Mousebirds to Hornbills, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 342-369, ISBN 978-84-87334-30-6
- Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers by Fry, Fry and Harris, ISBN 0-7136-8028-8
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coraciidae |
[edit] External links
- Roller videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- The distribution, status and places to see the Roller in northeast Spain
- Roller From Turkey
