My apologies if you were expecting a hard hitting exposé on Pentecostal churches in the Southern United States, as this article has nothing to do with the New World whatsoever. It is about birds of the genus Coracias, in the family of Coraciidae, which is in the order Coraciiformes. They are more commonly called Rollers. Rollers are lovely Old World birds that collectively inhabit most of the warmer regions of the Eastern Hemisphere.

European Roller

Coracias garrulus

The European Roller has a range that extends from Central Asia into South Western Europe. There are two subspecies of the garrulus the nominate and the semenowi. The nominate’s breeding range is Northern Africa to South-western Siberia, while the semenowi has a breeding range from Central Iraq into the Xijiang region of North-west China. This species migrates to Africa in the winter. Due to recent rapid decline in numbers, the European Roller is considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

Abyssinian Roller

Coracias abyssinica

Abyssinian Rollers inhabit the Sahel Belt, a semi-arid tropical savanna that extends across from Senegal and Mauritania on The Atlantic to Eritrea on The Red Sea. The males and female of this species are very similar in appearance.

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Coracias caudata

Lilac-Breasted Rollers also have a similar appearance in both sexes. There range extends throughout sub-Saharan Africa from The Congo through Kenya and into the Arabian peninsula In the Turkana Basin region of Kenya the Lilac-Breasted Roller has been replaced by its relative from the north the Abyssinian Roller.

Racket-Tailed Roller

Coracias spatulata

The Racket-Tailed Roller is considered Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. This species makes in home across Southern Africa, from The Congo to Mozambique and south to South Africa. In 1951 this species found it’s way onto a lovely stamp in the country of Angola. A little something for you stamp collectors to keep on eye out for.

Rufous-Crowned Roller

Coracias naevia

Another species that in considered Least Concern by the IUCN Red List the Rufous-Crowned Roller’s range envelopes most of the African continent and extends in Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. This species prefers dry woodland regions. They are prolific year round breeders that seem to only take a break in November and December.

Indian Roller

Coracias benghalensis

The Indian Roller is not a migratory bird, but does have a breeding range from Iraq to Thailand. In some places in it’s native range local mistakenly called these birds Blue Jays. As with other Rollers the Indian Rollers the sexes look similar and feed on insects, lizards, and small mammals. They are also considered Least Concern by The IUCN Red List.

Purple-Winged Roller

Coracias temminckii

The Purple-Winged Roller has a much smaller range than many of the other Rollers we have covered. It resides in mainly lowland forests of Sulawesi Island (formerly known as Celebes) in Sundra Islands region of Indonesia. In spite of this species comparatively smaller range it is also consider Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Blue-Bellied Roller

Coracias cyanogaster

The Blue-Bellied Roller makes in home in many of the countries of Western Africa, preferring Isoberlinia forests, and is also considered a species of Least Concern.

 ——

For those of you interested in aviculture, various species of rollers are at times available throughout the world. Should you be interested in keeping or breeding rollers you will need a large aviary or bird room to keep these birds properly. As with all animals only acquire them if you have researched how to care for them and are sure you are able to do so.

 All photos are from Wikimedia.