Blue-bellied Roller

Coracias cyanogaster

The Blue-bellied Roller is a colorful bird with bright blue and green feathers. It loves to fly high in the sky and can often be seen gliding gracefully over trees and fields.

Habitat: Savannas

Appearance

The Blue-bellied Roller has a striking brown head and back contrasting with a vivid, sky-blue belly, throat, and rump. Its flight feathers are deep purplish-blue with a black trailing edge, making it truly stand out.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassAvesOrderCoraciiformesFamilyCoraciidaeGenusCoracias

Blue-bellied Roller

Interesting facts

Both parent rollers share incubating eggs and feeding their hungry chicks.

Their name "Roller" comes from their spectacular tumbling courtship flights!

They can even catch and eat venomous scorpions, carefully removing the sting first!

They often nest inside abandoned tree hollows or old woodpecker nests.

Special abilities

Blue-bellied Rollers can perform incredible aerial dives to catch insects because they have strong, agile wings.

Blue-bellied Rollers flash bright blue wing patches during flight that helps them warn off rivals or attract mates.

Blue-bellied Rollers have excellent eyesight that helps them spot tiny insects from high branches.

Measurements & details

Length: 28-30 cm
Wingspan: 55-65 cm
Weight: 0.1-0.15 kg
Lifespan: 8-10 years
Top Speed: 50 km/h
Clutch Size: 2-4
Incubation: 18-20 days
Migration Distance: 0 km

Diet & Feeding

An insect-eating bird that hunts bugs from high perches in open woodlands.

Primary Foods

Grasshoppers
Beetles
Crickets
Mantises
Scorpions
Small lizards

Foraging Method

Ambush

Ecological connections

hunts

Migratory Locust

Locusta migratoria

eats these common insects from the air or ground.

shelters

Western Green-backed Woodpecker

Campethera permista

uses its abandoned tree cavities for nesting.

eaten by

Jackal Buzzard

Buteo rufofuscus

a common bird of prey and potential predator.

Traits

Feathered

Feathered describes animals, primarily birds, possessing a covering of feathers.

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Gliding

Gliding animals move through the air by launching themselves and maintaining flight with specialized body structures, without flapping wings.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Savanna

This habitat trait denotes species native to savannas, which are grasslands with scattered trees, typically found in tropical or subtropical regions with distinct wet and dry seasons.