Blue-bellied Roller
Encyclopedia
The Blue-bellied Roller, Coracias cyanogaster is a member of the roller
family of bird
s which breeds across Africa
in a narrow belt from Senegal
to northeast Zaire
. It is resident, apart from some local seasonal movements, in mature moist savannah dominated by Isoberlinia
trees.
The Blue-bellied Roller is a large bird, nearly the size of a Jackdaw
at 28-30 cm. It has a dark green back, white head, neck and breast, with the rest of the plumage mainly blue. Adults have 6cm tail streamers. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult.
Blue-bellied Roller is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blues of the wings contrasting with the dark back and white head, and the tail streamers trailing behind.
This is a common bird of warm open country with some trees. These rollers often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrike
s, whilst watching for the grasshopper
s and other large insect
s on which they feed.
The display of this bird is a lapwing
-like display, with the twists and turns that give this species its English name. It nests in a hole in a tree cavity.
The call of Blue-bellied Roller is a harsh clicking ga-ga-ga sound.
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the Blue-bellied Roller is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Roller
The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and...
family of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s which breeds across Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in a narrow belt from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
to northeast Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
. It is resident, apart from some local seasonal movements, in mature moist savannah dominated by Isoberlinia
Isoberlinia
Isoberlinia is a genus in the family Fabaceae of five species of tree native to the hotter parts of tropical Africa. They are an important component of miombo woodlands...
trees.
The Blue-bellied Roller is a large bird, nearly the size of a Jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
at 28-30 cm. It has a dark green back, white head, neck and breast, with the rest of the plumage mainly blue. Adults have 6cm tail streamers. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult.
Blue-bellied Roller is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blues of the wings contrasting with the dark back and white head, and the tail streamers trailing behind.
This is a common bird of warm open country with some trees. These rollers often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
s, whilst watching for the grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s and other large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s on which they feed.
The display of this bird is a lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
-like display, with the twists and turns that give this species its English name. It nests in a hole in a tree cavity.
The call of Blue-bellied Roller is a harsh clicking ga-ga-ga sound.
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the Blue-bellied Roller is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.