Coracias
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Coracias is a genus of the rollers, an Old World family of birds related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups, blues and browns predominating. The two outer front toes are connected, but not the inner one.
Taxonomy
The genus Coracias was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The genus name is from Ancient Greek korakías (Template:Lang),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> derived from korax (Template:Lang, ‘raven, crow’).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Aristotle described the coracias as a bird as big as a crow with a red beak,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which some believe to be the chough.<ref>Greek Word Study Tool</ref> The type species was designated as the European roller (Coracias garrulus) by George Robert Gray in 1855.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Species
Nine species are recognized:<ref name=ioc>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Species table
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Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Coracias:
- Olive-backed oriole (as Coracias sagittata)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Eurasian golden oriole (as Coracias oriolus)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Black-hooded oriole (as Coracias xanthornus)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Broad-billed roller (as Coracias glaucurus)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Broad-billed roller (afer) (as Coracias afra)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Oriental dollarbird (as Coracias orientalis)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Australian roller (as Coracias pacifica)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Behaviour and ecology
Coracias rollers are watch-and wait hunters. They sit in a tree or on a post before descending on their prey and carrying it back in the beak to a perch before dismembering it. A wide range of terrestrial invertebrates, and small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards rodents and young birds, are taken. Their prey includes items avoided by many other birds, such as hairy caterpillars, insects with warning colouration and snakes.<ref name="Fry2010">Template:Cite book</ref> They often perch prominently whilst hunting, like giant shrikes.
References
External links
- Roller videos on the Internet Bird Collection
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