Coraciidae
Rollers | |
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Indian roller from Maharashtra, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Coraciidae Rafinesque, 1815 |
Genera | |
Coraciidae (
They are mainly insect eaters, with Eurystomus species taking their prey on the wing, and those of the genus Coracias diving from a perch to catch food items from on the ground, like giant shrikes.
Although living rollers are birds of warm climates in the Old World, fossil records show that rollers were present in North America during the Eocene.[1] 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.
Taxonomy and systematics
The roller family Coraciidae was introduced (as Coracinia) by the French polymath
A
Coraciidae |
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Genera
The roller family has two extant genera as follows:[9]
Image | Genus | Living Species |
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Coracias Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Eurystomus Vieillot, 1816 |
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Description
Rollers can be identified as medium-sized birds with strong, slightly hooked
Distribution and habitat
The rollers are found in warmer parts of the Old World. Africa has most species, and is believed to be where the family originated. This is supported by the fact that the related ground rollers are found on Madagascar.[4] The European roller is completely migratory, breeding in Europe and wintering in Africa, and the dollarbird also leaves much of its breeding range in winter. Other species are sedentary or short-range migrants.[13] These are birds of open habitats with trees or other elevated perches from which to hunt.[14]
Behavior
Breeding
Rollers are noisy and aggressive when defending their nesting territories, which they patrol while displaying their striking plumage. Intruders are attacked with intimidating rolling dives.[4] 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.[7][11] Egg laying is staggered at one-day intervals so that if food is short only the older larger nestlings get fed. The chicks are naked, blind and helpless when they hatch.[4]
Feeding
Coracias rollers are watch-and-wait hunters. They sit in a tree or on a post before descending on their prey and carrying it back to a perch in the beak before dismembering it. They take a wide range of terrestrial invertebrates, and small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, rodents and young birds. They will take items avoided by many other birds, such as hairy caterpillars, insects with warning colouration and snakes.[14]
Eurystomus rollers hunt on the wing, swooping on flying beetles, crickets and other insects which are crushed by their broad deep beaks and eaten on the wing. The azure roller and dollarbird will hunt huge swarms of termites and flying ants which appear after thunderstorms. Tens or hundreds of these rollers may be attracted to large swarms.[14]
References
- .
- ^ Rafinesque, Constantine Samuel (1815). Analyse de la nature ou, Tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés (in French). Palermo: Self-published. p. 67.
- hdl:2246/830.
- ^ a b c d Fry, Fry & Harris 1992, pp. 6–27.
- .
- ^ Hackett, S. et al. (2008) "A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history " Science 320 (5884) 1763–1768
- ^ ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
- S2CID 5011292.
- ^ "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". IOC World Bird List. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
- S2CID 56065258.
- ^ ISBN 1-55297-777-3.
- ISBN 978-84-87334-30-6.
- ^ Fry, Fry & Harris 1992, pp. 98–102.
- ^ a b c Fry, Fry & Harris 1992, pp. 15–16.
Cited text
- Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm. 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