The world of birds is very diverse, and if the plumage of some is not distinguished by the brightness of its colors, then the feathers of other birds can simultaneously shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. The owner of one of the most variegated feather colors is the common roller; it is a rather large, jay-sized bird from the family Coraciiformes. This representative of the bird class has other names - sirow, raksha.

Common roller, or raksha. Astrakhan region, 2017.

Geography of residence

Just a few decades ago, the roller’s habitat was quite extensive, but in recent years, due to the destruction and cutting down of forests, the catching of birds for their meat or decoratively colored feathers, and the reduction in the number of insects due to the use of pesticides, their population has decreased significantly.

Currently, raksha can be found in the forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones of Europe, southwest Asia and northwest Africa. Quite large populations live in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, Turkey, the Balkan countries, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain and France. Rollers are migratory birds; as soon as cold weather sets in, the birds migrate to the Sahara region, south-west Africa and Cote d'Ivoire.

Birds settle preferably in forest-steppe areas, choosing isolated trees, or in old pine forests and oak forests. Rollers can also be found in city parks, squares, and along the sea coastline.

Appearance

It is very easy to distinguish the common roller from other birds due to its variegated and very beautiful color. The coverts, head and chest of the bird have a beautiful turquoise color with iridescence, the feathers on the back are brownish-rusty in color, and the rump is soft purple or blue. The feathers of the wings are painted azure, with black tips.

The roller is similar in structure and size to the common crow. The bird's body length is 31 - 35 cm, its wingspan can reach 70 cm, and the bird's weight is about 200 grams. One of the characteristics of birds is their rather large head in relation to their body size.

The bird's beak is straight, slightly pressed on the sides at the top, hooked, dark brown in color; at the base of the beak there are hard, bristle-like vibrissae. The bird's tail is not very long - about 19 cm, it consists of twelve bright blue feathers, the tail feathers are dark in color, and the outer tail feathers are slightly longer than all the others. The raksha's legs are long, light brown in color, one toe on the paw is facing back, and three are facing forward, each of the toes ends in very sharp claws.

Young birds are very easy to distinguish from adults - their plumage seems to be covered with a coating, which will disappear over time. Sexual dimorphism is completely absent.

What does a roller eat?

Rollers do not like large forests, so they most often settle in desert or semi-desert areas.

Ordinary rollers are absolutely not picky eaters, but they still give preference to animal food - they feed on large insects. So special treats for them are:

• Locust,
• Lizards,
• frogs,
• Centipedes,
• Small rodents,
• grasshoppers,
• Cicadas,
• Butterflies,
• Bees and wasps,
• flies,
• Termites,
• Ants.

In autumn, grapes, other berries and various seeds appear in the birds' diet.

These birds have a remarkable reaction - upon seeing prey, the bird instantly breaks off the branch and attacks the victim with lightning speed. As soon as the bird grabs its prey, it instantly swallows it. If a mouse has become the bird's prey, then before feasting on it, the predator lifts it several times to a great height and throws it down until the victim dies.

Lifestyle

Outside the breeding season, the raksha leads a rather solitary lifestyle. The bird spends most of its time high in a tree, looking for prey. Rollers rarely move on the ground, due to the structural features of their legs - they are too long, descending only to feast on lizards, frogs or rodents; if the bird senses danger, a bad-smelling secret is released from its stomach, which the bird uses to scare off predators.

Birds fly not very high, intermittently, sometimes rising, sometimes dropping sharply, usually the flight altitude does not exceed 150-180 meters.

On warm days, the roller is very active, constantly looking for food, but if the weather worsens, it becomes cloudy and cold, the bird sits out in a safe place. Rollers are very heat-loving birds, so they fly to Africa at the end of August and return to their nesting sites no earlier than May. If the summer is cool and rainy, then the birds do not lay eggs at all.

These birds are not distinguished by beautiful trills, their voice resembles a croak - “Krak..Rak..”, it is this feature of “singing” that gave the bird its second name.

Reproduction

Birds become sexually mature at the age of two years. These birds are monogamous; once they find a mate, they will remain faithful to each other until death. At the beginning of the mating season, in order to interest the female, the male rakshi begins to perform a real acrobatic dance in the air in front of her, while screaming very shrilly.

The roller does not change its nesting place, returning every year to the same place. For a nest, it can use a hollow abandoned by a woodpecker, or a crevice in a rock. It can also choose small cracks in the walls of houses for nesting. In areas with soft soil, birds independently dig holes up to 70 cm deep; at the end of such a hole there will be a nesting chamber, often without any bedding. In rare cases, rakshi can live in joint groups - two or three pairs place their nests in one spacious hole.

The bird begins laying eggs in June; the roller's clutch usually contains from 4 to 6 white eggs, one egg appearing every 48 hours, which the female will incubate for about 18-20 days. The eggs weigh about 15 grams, diameter about 29 mm. Usually those chicks that are born first survive, and the younger ones, unable to withstand the competition, die of hunger, thus leaving 2-3 chicks alive.

Babies are born completely naked and blind, so the new father and mother have to feed and warm the children with their warmth for 28 days; both the female and the male are responsible for feeding the chicks. As soon as the chicks fledge, they try to leave the nest, but for a few more days they will return to the nest, where caring parents will feed them. Until the beginning of autumn, newborn chicks remain with their parents, learning to get food.

The lifespan of the common roller is 9-10 years.

In some Asian countries, the roller is considered an “unclean” bird, so its nests are deliberately destroyed.

Rollers are very useful economic birds; they destroy a huge number of harmful insects, so recently in some countries measures have been taken to attract pairs of rollers for nesting.

The common roller belongs to the genus of rollers of the same name, which is represented by 8 species, by the name of which one can judge the main features of each species. Here are the remaining 7 species of this genus:

• Abyssinian,
• Bengal,
• Bluebellied,
• Red-haired,
• Rockettail,
• Sulawesi,
• Lilac-breasted.

The common roller (lat. Coracias garrulus) is a beautiful bird with bright elegant plumage from the Roller family (Coraciidae) of the Coraciiformes order. In the recent past, it was widespread throughout Europe. The destruction of forest stands and cutting down old trees simply deprives it of its usual habitat.

The use of insecticides in agriculture leads rollers to a half-starved existence, which does not give them the opportunity to fully feed their chicks and affects the renewal of a healthy population.

Currently, the number of rollers living in Europe is estimated at approximately 100 thousand individuals, most of which live in Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

Behavior

Common rollers breed in Europe, South-West Asia and North Africa. They winter in Cote d'Ivoire, as well as in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. They prefer to settle in the forest-steppe area on isolated trees or in old pine forests and oak forests.

Recently, due to environmental changes, they are appearing even in city parks and coastal regions. In places where there are many ravines in clayey soil, they often make nests in burrows dug in the ground.

These birds are distinguished by their increased love for warmth, so they most often arrive from Africa only in May, and fly away at the end of August or at the beginning of September. If the summer turns out to be rainy and cool, then they do not breed at all.

Outside the nesting season, rollers lead a solitary lifestyle. They love to climb tall trees and vigilantly look out for prey. Seeing her, the hunter instantly takes off and attacks the victim in the air with lightning speed. Having grabbed the insect with her strong beak, she immediately swallows it.

The roller's flight usually does not exceed 100-200 m. It does not like to walk on the ground, however, on occasion it is not averse to feasting on small lizards, frogs and rodents. In the second half of summer, her diet is supplemented with ripe fruits and berries.

In case of danger, it secretes a foul-smelling secretion from its stomach, which scares away many predators.

Reproduction

The common roller returns to the same nesting sites every year. Most often, she chooses an abandoned woodpecker hollow for her nest. In mountainous areas, rock crevices are used for this purpose. Rollers sometimes build nests in abandoned houses and in cracks in castle walls.

In coastal areas with soft soil, they often independently dig holes up to 60-70 cm long. At the end of such a hole there is a spacious nesting chamber, often without any bedding.

At the beginning of the mating season, the male occupies a certain area. Having noticed a female, he begins to perform acrobatic dances in front of her in the air and shout “Cancer-Cancer” in a piercing, hoarse voice, which is why these birds are also called rakshas.

At the beginning of June, the female lays 4-6 shiny round eggs with a diameter of about 30 mm. Both parents hatch the clutch in turn. Incubation lasts 18-20 days. Incubation begins after the first egg is laid. Eggs are laid at intervals of 48 hours. For this reason, chicks appear at different times and the younger ones often die of hunger, unable to withstand competition with their more developed brothers. Usually 2-3 chicks from the brood survive.

The chicks are born blind and naked. For 4 weeks, parents tirelessly try to feed them and warm them with the warmth of their bodies. Having barely fledged, the chicks leave the nest, but for several more days they remain close to their parents, eating the food they brought. At the end of summer, the juveniles fly away for the winter.

Young rollers have less bright plumage than adult birds. Only the next year their heads acquire a turquoise color, and the red breast becomes greenish-blue.

Description

The body length of adult individuals is 30-32 cm with a wingspan of 48-62 cm and a weight of 150 to 190 g. The structure and body size of the common roller resembles a crow.

The chest, head and wing coverts are colored turquoise. The back is rusty brown, and the rump is purple or blue. The wings are covered with azure feathers with black tips. The tail is moderately long, with dark tail feathers. The pair of outer tail feathers is slightly longer than the others.

The strong, dark-colored beak is curved down. The legs are long and light. Three toes point forward and one toes point back. All fingers are armed with sharp claws.

The lifespan of the common roller in natural conditions does not exceed 12 years.

“Birds flutter merrily everywhere, among which the blue roller shines like a living sapphire on a motley mosaic of wildflowers.” (L. Gren. “The Last Days of Jerusalem”).

How I adored Nikolai Gnatyuk with his “Bird of Tomorrow’s Happiness.” The singer’s incomparable voice, lively music and beautiful words inspired hope and even faith.

The fairytale bird of happiness exists not only in the imagination of writers, but also in reality. This is the roller or raksha, one of the most beautiful birds found in the wild.

The common roller - Coracias garrulus - is a large bird from the family Coraciiformes. It is slightly larger in size than our ordinary jackdaw. The weight of rollers ranges from 150 to 200 g. Body length is 30-35 cm. Wingspan is from 50 to 62 cm.

This one is very brightly colored, so it cannot be confused with other birds. The head with a whitish forehead, the wings and tail of the roller are bright blue, turquoise, the rump can be purple, the bottom of the wings is bluish, and the edges are black. The pair of outer tail feathers is slightly longer than the others and tapered towards the ends. The tail is not very long.

There are whitish stripes on the throat.
The breast is blue with greenish tints.
The plumage on the back is reddish or brownish.

The beak is strong, slightly curved down, dark in color. The nostrils are located at the base of the beak and are covered with bristles. Rollers also have bristles in the corners of their mouths. The iris of the eyes is brownish.

The long, strong legs of rollers are light-colored, with a yellowish coating, but the claws of these birds, although equipped with sharp claws, are weak and therefore are not able to grasp and hold prey on the fly.

Three toes on the roller's toes point forward, one toe points back.

Females and males of rollers are colored the same.
The plumage of young birds is duller.

In autumn, adult rollers also lose some of their brightness. A rusty coating appears on the chest, the top of the head becomes brown-green, and the back becomes dirty brown. But after molting, the birds become bright again.

Rollers fly beautifully and quickly.

But on the ground they become clumsy, so they try to cover even short distances by air.

Rollers can sit motionless for a long time on some high place - the top of a tree, on a branch, a telegraph pole, on a cliff or some hillock.

The roller is found in the southern regions of the European part of Russia, almost throughout the entire territory of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, the Balkans, France, Spain, Turkey, and Central Asia.

In our country, rollers appear in mid-spring, but it is very difficult to see them, as they are cautious and shy. These birds are always on the alert; as soon as they notice the slightest danger, they immediately fly away.

Probably because of this feature of rollers, a sign was born - whoever sees a roller will be happy for the rest of his life.

Rollers live on the edges of forests, in steppes with isolated rare trees, in meadows, on the outskirts of pastures, in forest-steppes, in rare oak forests, deciduous groves, pine forests with old hollow trees, in abandoned orchards, and in clearings. Sometimes they even nest in old city parks.

Rollers are heat-loving birds and are active in warm weather. In cold summers, couples do not hatch chicks. In bad weather they hide in shelters. Immediately after arrival, they spend the night in the treetops and on cliffs.

During nesting time, both the female and the male spend the night in the hole, and they can spend the night in it even after the chicks have fledged, almost until they fly off to warmer climes.

Rollers do not belong to the group, but due to the lack of suitable territories for nesting, pairs can settle quite close to each other. Rollers are also calm about the proximity of other bird species that have settled next to them.

Observers report that rollers band together to defend their nests from predators. So they attack a kestrel, black kite, and hooded crow who are near the nest, while the rollers hit the feathered predators on the head with their paws.

Rollers look out for their prey from a height, for example, sitting on the branch of a lonely tree or on a haystack. These birds have excellent eyesight.

Rollers rarely try to catch prey on the fly and, as a rule, without success.

The diet of rollers includes: large insects - beetles, locusts, crickets, caterpillars, mole crickets, bugs, ants, hawk moths, dragonflies, mantises; mollusks, arachnids, tadpoles, frogs, lizards, spindles, small snakes, shrews, voles, wood mice, small hamsters... The favorite delicacy of rollers is earthworms. In late summer and autumn, rollers eat ripe berries and fruits.

Rollers begin looking for a mate immediately upon arriving home. And, as a rule, an established pair remains for life and returns from wintering to the same place.

The male looks beautiful, takes care of her, demonstrates to her the dexterity of his flight, performing acrobatic tricks in the air.

Rollers nest in rock crevices, abandoned burrows, ravines, hollows, that is, both on the ground and in trees.

Rollers themselves dig holes, if there is no suitable one, the length of the hole is 55-60 cm, with a place for a nest at the very end. The nest is lined with last year's leaves.

Sometimes the female lays eggs on the ground, usually 4-6 eggs. The eggs are white, shiny, round in shape. Both the female and the male incubate. The birds sit so tightly on the nest that you can even pick them up with your hands.

The chicks appear after three weeks, but at different times, since the bird hatching process begins after the first egg is laid. The chicks are blind and naked and weigh no more than 10 g. On the 5th day, stalks of feathers appear, which open only on the 8th day.

Both parents feed the chicks. In case of danger, rollers are able to transfer eggs and chicks to another place. Just like cats... Although none of the scientists have yet been able to document this process.

After birth, the younger chicks lag behind the older ones in development, and if there is not enough food, they die of hunger.

Adult birds warm and feed their offspring for a month.

Not yet able to fly, the barely fledged chicks climb out of the nest and jump on stones or nearby branches. Their parents continue to feed them. The young stay close to their parents, learning from them the experience of adult life.

The enemies of young birds are kites and crawlers. The main enemy of adult birds is humans.

In Oman and India, roller meat is considered a delicacy. They are also shot in Mediterranean countries.

Grown-up young birds are the first to fly away for the winter.

From the second half of August, the departure of adult birds begins; by the beginning of September, all rollers fly to warmer climes.

Birds fly during daylight hours, mainly in the morning and early evening, low above the ground, in small scattered groups, often one after another. Rollers winter in Africa.

Rollers are listed in the International Red Book. They are protected in most countries of the world.

Over the past decades, the number of these beautiful birds has declined sharply. Deforestation and environmental pollution play a significant role in this.

The roller is a useful bird for fields, forests, and gardens, as it destroys harmful insects and rodents.

An adult roller eats more than 40 g of food per day, and a chick eats up to 22 insects.

In addition, the roller is actually a bird of happiness.

And let it fly at least for a moment before the eyes of each of us - a blue bird from a fairy tale.

Birds are amazing natural creatures. Their bright plumage and melodious ringing voices fill nature with colors and a unique atmosphere. It is impossible to imagine a forest without birds. In it you can always hear a wide variety of chirping and see the amazing plumage of birds.

The story in this article is about one of these birds. This beautiful bird is a roller.

General information about the squad

Rakshi birds are tropical. These include todis, kingfishers, motmots, hoopoe, ground rakshi and rollers (or true rakshi). Kingfishers especially attract attention, plunging headlong into the water in search of fish, and also associated with classical mythology. The ancient Greeks believed that Ceyx and Alcyone (wife), who were shipwrecked on Delphi, turned into kingfishers. The Chinese used the sparkling blue feathers of some varieties of these birds to decorate paintings.

Other birds of this order - bee-eaters - are accused of hunting valuable bees. And in North America they are considered enemies due to the fact that bee-eaters prey on young fish in fish hatcheries. Another bird - the kookaburra - has a loud laugh and even a donkey's voice. The roller is considered one of the most useful among its relatives.

General information

This bird has elegant bright plumage. It belongs to the roller family of the order Coraciiformes.

In the recent past, these birds lived throughout Europe. The cutting down and destruction of old trees, unfortunately, have deprived them of many of their usual habitats. Today, the number of these beautiful birds, distributed throughout Europe, is approximately 100 thousand individuals. However, most of them live in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

The use of insecticides in agriculture also leads to the fact that these birds are doomed to a half-starved existence. This does not allow them to fully feed their chicks, which greatly affects the renewal of the population.

Habitats and nesting sites

The roller bird lives mainly in ravines and steppe gullies. They can often be seen in large flocks on wires, from which they take off from time to time. In the more northern areas of their range, they willingly nest in clearings and burnt areas, as well as in pine forests and sparse oak forests.

The roller avoids dense forests with spruce trees. He prefers forest-steppe zones, valley forests, willow plantations, steppe oak groves and gardens. In steppe areas it selects cliffs, ravines, river banks, etc.

This bird has a fairly wide nesting area in Eurasia: from the southern territories of Spain, France, Germany, all of Eastern Europe to Siberia and the Tan Shan, as well as Kashmir in Central Asia. The nesting area in Sweden reaches 61° north. latitude, and in Finland - up to 62°. In Russia, they can be found in the vicinity of the cities of Kalinin, St. Petersburg, Gorky, Moscow and Kazan. In the most northern territories of Russia they are less common. Nesting sites are east of the Urals, in the area of ​​the city of Kokchetav in Kazakhstan (the middle reaches of the Irtysh River). These birds live in both Africa and Australia.

In the southern regions, rollers are migratory, and in the northern regions they are migratory. The departure of these birds in the black earth zone occurs gradually, starting almost at the end of August. And in the Crimea and the Caucasus, this bird stays longer in the fall, almost until the end of September. They fly away mainly in small flocks, and extremely rarely alone. They are flying towards Africa.

Description

The body length is 35 cm and weighs 180 grams. The height of this bird is approximately the same as that of an ordinary jackdaw. The plumage of the roller bird (raksha) is blue with a greenish tint. The shoulders and back are brown or reddish. The beak is black, short and quite strong. The lower part of the back, like the undertail, is violet-blue, and all the flight feathers on the underside are dark blue. The sharp wings of the bird in flight look beautiful blue.

The head of young birds is pale brown. Their flight is maneuverable, and their wingbeats are deep and sharp. They move awkwardly on the ground. Rollers have a sharp, raspy voice with a “beautiful” sound.

In the spring, males display mating. They rise to great heights with abrupt, croaking sounds similar to “craw-craw-craw -...”. Then, tumbling, they utter abrupt and passionate cries - “rucker-rucker-...”.

Among other modestly colored birds, the roller is very beautiful.

Behavior

Common rollers have recently begun to appear in city parks. This is due to changes occurring in the environment. Where there are many ravines with clayey soil, they make nests in dug holes.

These birds are distinguished by their increased heat-loving nature, so they fly from Africa only in May and fly away earlier than other birds. During cool and rainy summers, they do not breed. Outside the nesting season, these birds lead a mostly solitary lifestyle. Sitting on a branch of a tall tree, having seen prey, the bird instantly attacks the victim right in the air and immediately swallows it.

The length of the roller's flight does not exceed 200 meters. She doesn't like to walk on the ground, but sometimes she doesn't mind eating rodents, frogs or lizards.

This bird has one peculiarity - in case of danger, it is capable of releasing a secretion from the stomach that smells quite foul. It can repel many predators.

As a rule, rollers live alone or in pairs.

In conclusion about nutrition

The roller bird often feeds on insects. These are grasshoppers, fillies, worms, large beetles. Sometimes, as noted above, they feast on small rodents, frogs, and lizards. In the second half of summer, ripe berries and fruits appear in the diet.

They look for their prey by sitting on the wires of electric poles and on the branches of trees and bushes.