Micke Grove Zoo

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European Roller
Coracius garrulus

  • Habitat: Temperate, steppe and Mediterranean regions
  • Range: Europe, Morocco, Central Asia and Middle East
  • Natural Diet: Insects and spiders
  • Status in the Wild: Least Concern (Common)

 

Fun Facts

  • European rollers migrate long distances from Europe/Asia to sub-saharan Africa

  •  Their light blue feathers look stunning when they are in flight

  • They are well known for their skilled aerial acrobatic displays during which, they twist and turn adeptly in mid-air.

  •  They use their scent as a deterrent to predators. Chicks are known to regurgitate a foul smelling secretion that predators tend to avoid. Adult birds are also known to use similar techniques to deter predators.

  • They have a sharp sense of vision that they use to hunt their prey.

  • They are highly insectivorous feeding on 25 to 30 insects a day

 

Conservation Threats

The major threats are:

  • Habitat loss due to urbanization has a detrimental effect on the population numbers of this species

  • They are hunted for food, usually when they migrate from Europe/ Asia to Africa

  • Their breeding sites have declined due to conversion of their natural habitat to agricultural lands

 

 

 

European Roller The European roller's light blue feathers look stunning when they are in flight

Nest boxes were setup in the exhibit that the European rollers used for breeding

 

 

Distributional range