Coraciidae – Rollers | Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) by Bob-Nan

He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. (1 Kings 4:33-34 ESV)

CLASS – AVES, Order – CORACIIFORMES, Family – Coraciidae – Rollers

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Latest I.O.C. Version
Species (13)
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Purple Roller (Coracias naevius)
Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)
Indochinese Roller (Coracias affinis)
Purple-winged Roller (Coracias temminckii)
Racket-tailed Roller (Coracias spatulatus)
Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)
Abyssinian Roller (Coracias abyssinicus)
European Roller (Coracias garrulus)
Blue-bellied Roller (Coracias cyanogaster)
Blue-throated Roller (Eurystomus gularis)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Oriental Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)
Azure Dollarbird (Eurystomus azureus)

On the photos or slides, a “by” indicates one of the photographers or videographers, who have given their permission, with links on our sidebar. Please visit their sight to see many more fantastic shots, a “©©” copyright symbol indicates a photo from Creative Commons and ©WikiC is a Creative Commons photo from Wikipedia. “†” indicates the bird is extinct. *LLABS* means it is on Our Life List of All Birds Seen.

Photographers or Videographers used on this page from our sidebar, Photography, are:
Bob & Nan’s Gallery
Dave’s BirdingPix
Ian Montgomery’s Birdway
Nikhil Devasar’s Gallery

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Articles Mentioning Birds From This Family:

Birds Vol 1 #2 – The Swallow-tailed Indian Roller

Other Websites that have photos of this Family:

Coraciidae – OBI
Rollers (Coraciidae) – IBC
Rollers– Wikipedia
Coraciidae – Le quide ornitho

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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 bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one.

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. (Wikipedia with editing)