.png)
The lilac-breasted roller (Coracius caudatus) is an African member of the roller family of birds. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, preferring open forests and savannas; It is largely absent from treeless locations. Usually found singly or in pairs, it stands on top of trees, poles or other high vantage points from which it can feed on insects, lizards, scorpions, snails, small birds and rodents. Walk around at ground level.[Nesting takes place in a natural hole in a tree where a clutch of 2-4 eggs is laid, and both parents, who are very aggressive in defending their nests, take on raptors and other birds. . Males will grow very high during the breeding season, descending into suffocation and sleep, while making harsh, disembodied cries.
The sexes are similar in colour. Juveniles do not have the long tail feathers that adults do.
This species is unofficially considered the national bird of Kenya.
In the field, these crow-shaped rollers are often seated alone in a grass clearing on a tree. Lilac-breasted rollers are almost unmistakable with their bright plumage, but they may be confused with Abyssinian rollers in Kenya's Turkana Basin. C. For C. caudatus, look for a lilac throat that deepens into a deep lilac breast. The crown of iron is the olive, औAnd the cheek and ear covers are a lilac- rufous. In the subspecies C. C. lurtii, the crown of the crown is blue rather than olive, and the breast is blue; the throat is lilac, and some blue throat rollers have a lilac patch on the lower abdomen. Both subspecies have long blackish outer tails that are absent in juveniles. Lilac-breasted rollers are not sexually dimorphic but males may be slightly larger than females.The average mass is 104 g, and length ranges from 36 to 38 cm. These acrobat fliers have an average wingspan of 50 to 58 cm. Unique to the rollers (Coraciidae family) are syndactyl feet, in which the second and third digits are fused.
Lila-breasted rollers are found in southern and eastern Africa, their range extends from the Red Sea coast of Ethiopia to southern Africa, where they are common in Namibia (except the Namib Desert), Botswana, Zimbabwe, and north-east South Africa. cc caudatus, the true lilac-breasted roller, is a non-migratory species, while its counterpart, the blue-breasted roller (C.C. lori) migrates from north-east Kenya to northwest Somalia spawning from late April to mid-September. Is. Lilac-breasted rollers are most abundant in Kenya, where they are unofficially treated as a national bird.
Both subspecies live in grazing habitats that border trees and shrubs, as the birds use the high ground for food and nesting. Lilac-breasted rollers are rarely seen outside protected areas, where they are commonly seen along roads and avenues. This is because roads make an ideal borderline habitat for birds to search for and hunt. However, lilac-breasted rollers tend to avoid other human-infested areas and are not found in urban or rural areas unless abandoned. Outside protected areas such as national parks, buck-breasted rollers are rarely seen when farmers burn land for agricultural use. Insects and other invertebrates breed in forest fires, and birds can be seen flocking for easy prey.
