The lilac breasted roller is easy to identify as it contains a palette of colors. It has a black bill, pale green crown and nape, a black line through the eye, a white eyebrow and chin, lilac throat and breast with white streaks, turquoise belly, wing patch, rump and tail, cinnamon to rufous back, and purple shoulders. It is commonly found in the game reserves of Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Transvaal.
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| Lilac breasted roller with a good delineation of the various colors. Photo by Michael Lewin. |
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| This photo captures the green on the crown and nape. By Mark Edwards. |
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| Photo by Michael Lewin. |
It perches high in the tops of trees or poles to look for insects, lizards, scorpions, snails and even small birds and rodents. Rollers get their name from aerial acrobatics they perform during courtship or territorial flights. The lilac breasted roller is the national bird of Kenya and Botswana.
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| Photo by Esmee Tooke. |
He looks like he got into the painting supply. Beautiful bird.
ReplyDeleteThere's actually a lot of variation in color from one bird to the next. Gorgeous, all of them.
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