(_Coracias garrulus_)
Among the birds of brilliant plumage which occasionally straggle to
the British Isles, one of the most gaudy is the blue roller, so called
on account of its roling, or “rolling,” flight. In India this and an
allied species are commonly called the blue jay, while in Poland the
present bird is locally termed the Polish parrot. The roller has,
however, nothing to do with either jays or parrots, but is more nearly
related to the king-fishers.
Although the blue roller is practically an unmistakable bird--certainly
so far as British species are concerned--it may be well to mention that
the head, neck, wing-coverts, and under-parts are bright greenish blue,
the back and shoulders cinnamon-brown, the flight-feathers blue at the
roots and elsewhere black above and wholly deep blue beneath, the upper
tail-coverts deep ultramarine, while the two middle tail-feathers are
dirty brown, and the other feathers of the tail sky-blue, with the tips
of the outer pair, which are somewhat lengthened, black. In size the
bird is rather smaller than a crow.
The normal summer range of the species includes central and southern
Europe, and thence extends through central Asia to Kashmir; while in
winter it embraces India and the greater part of Africa. Northwards
this bird is found as far as Scandinavia, although only occasionally;
but its chief haunts in Europe are Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland,
and southern Russia. It makes its annual appearance in Europe towards
the end of April, and takes its departure, like the cuckoo, not later
than August. In Asia Minor, Persia, Baluchistan, India, and Ceylon
it is replaced, except in winter (when both are found together), by
the closely allied _Coracias indicus_. A third species extends from
the eastern Himalaya through Burma to Cochin China and Siam, a fourth
inhabits Celebes, and quite a number are indigenous to Africa. In
Australasia and the New World these birds are unknown.
Avoiding swampy localities and high mountains, the roller resorts to
dry open districts with thin forest in which birch abounds, and where
hollow oaks or beech are to be found. Here it prefers to dwell at the
edge of the forest, where isolated trees grow in the fields and by the
roadsides, and command a wide view of the country. In harvest-time it
repairs to the sheaves in the cornfields.
The bird is, however, largely insectivorous, and from its perch in
some tall tree sallies forth in search of all kinds of insects and
other invertebrates as well as young frogs, while it will also eat
field-mice. In their season figs afford it a much appreciated feast.
[Illustration]
In habits the roller is shy and unsociable, going about in pairs, and
generally, but not always, shunning the vicinity of human habitations.
Its flight is swift and undulating, and often limited to the passage
from one tree-top to another. In fine weather, however, it indulges
in the habit of tumbling when on the wing, and performs all kinds of
aerial evolutions, sometimes falling from a considerable height almost
to the ground; this last performance generally taking place during the
pairing-season. At that season, when the males are in the company of
the females, the former rise into the air with their characteristic
harsh cry of “rak, rak, rak,” and descend again with a rapidly repeated
“rak, rak, rak.” When at rest, the cry is a high-pitched, frequently
repeated “raker, raker, raker.” It is from these cries that the bird
derives its specified name, and likewise its German title of _blaurake_.
In many parts of Europe the nest is built in the hole of a tree, but
in the south is more generally placed in ruins, under the roofs of
houses, in clefts in walls, or on cliffs and steep banks, in which deep
holes are excavated for its reception. At the proper season it contains
from five to six white eggs, which are brooded in turn by the male and
female, and this so assiduously that it is often easy to capture the
sitting bird with the hands. In laying white eggs, the roller conforms
to the general rule of birds which nest in holes. It is, moreover, an
uncleanly bird, and when the nest has contained young for some time, it
gives out a most disgusting smell, while the young themselves sit in
a mass of filth. Strange that such a beautiful bird should have such
dirty habits!
As regards its mental powers, the roller is evidently highly developed;
but its inherent shyness renders it unsuitable as a cage-bird. In
disposition it is, as already mentioned, unsociable, and it will
frequently quarrel with other birds and its own fellows. On the other
hand, several pairs often nest near together, and its migrations are
made in large companies.