European Roller (Coracias garrulus) (Linnaeus,1758) Κράγκα - Χαλκοκουρούνα - Χρυσοκαρακάξα - Cyprus

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Αυτά είναι τα πέντε ομορφότερα αποδημητικά πουλιά της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/11/2017

The European roller (Coracias garrulus) is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East and Central Asia and Morocco.

There are two subspecies: the nominate garrulus, which breeds from in north Africa from Morocco east to Tunisia, southwest and south-central Europe and Asia Minor east through northwest Iran to southwest Siberia; and semenowi, which breeds in Iraq and Iran (except northwest) east to Kashmir and north to Turkmenistan, south Kazakhstan and northwest China (west Xinjiang). The European roller is a long-distance migrant, wintering in southern Africa in two distinct regions, from Senegal east to Cameroon and from Ethiopia west to Congo and south to South Africa.

It is a bird of warm, dry, open country with scattered trees, preferring lowland open countryside with patches of oak Quercus forest, mature pine Pinus woodland with heathery clearings, orchards, mixed farmland, river valleys, and plains with scattered thorny or leafy trees. It winters primarily in dry wooded savanna and bushy plains, where it typically nests in tree holes

The European roller is a stocky bird, the size of a jackdaw at 29–32 cm in length with a 52–58 cm wingspan; it is mainly blue with an orange-brown back. Rollers often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrikes, whilst watching for the large insects, small reptiles, rodents and frogs that they eat.

This species is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blue contrasting with black flight feathers. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult.

The display of this bird is a lapwing-like display, with the twists and turns that give this species its English name. It nests in an unlined tree or cliff hole, and lays up to six eggs.

The call is a harsh crow-like sound. It gives a raucous series of calls when nervous.

Some populations migrate to Africa through India. A collision with an aircraft over the Arabian Sea has been recorded

The  European roller is a bird of warmer regions. The nominate subspecies breeds in northern North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, in southern and east-central Europe, and eastwards through northwestern Iran to southwestern Siberia. The subspecies C. g. semenow breeds from Iraq and southern Iran east through Kashmir and southern Kazakhstan to Xinjiang. The European range was formerly more extensive, but there has been a long-term decline in the north and west, with extinction as a nesting bird in Sweden and Germany. They are migratory, wintering in Africa, mainly in the east and south.

The European roller is found in a wide variety of habitats, avoiding only treeless plains. They are typically birds of lowlands, but occur up to 1000 m (3300 ft) in Europe and 2000 m (6600 ft) in Morocco. Oak and pine woodlands with open areas are prime breeding habitat, but farms, orchards and similar areas with mixed vegetation are also used. In Africa, a similarly wide range of dry open land with trees is used.

The Eurasian roller has an extensive distribution in Europe and western Asia, and its European breeding population is estimated at 159,000 to 330,000 birds. When Asian breeders are added, this gives a global total population of 277,000 to 660,000 individuals. There have been fairly rapid population declines across much of its range, so it is classed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The European population declined by 25 percent between 1990 and 2000. The northern areas of the breeding range have fared worst, with numbers in the Baltic states and northern Russia collapsing, and no birds left breeding in Estonia.

Threats include hunting while on migration in around the Mediterranean, and large numbers, possibly in the thousands, are killed for food in Oman. Agricultural practices have led to the loss of trees and hedges which provide potential nest sites and perches for hunting, and pesticides have reduced the availability of insect food. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos and videos Geri by George Konstantinou