Lilac-breasted roller: Most Beautiful Bird in The World
Tauheed Ahmad Nawaz
The colorful lilac-breasted roller, “Coracias caudatus,” is a member of the roller family of birds. It is widely found in Sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, preferring open woodland and savanna. It is mostly absent in treeless places. Lilac-breasted rollers are normally alone or in pairs. The bird perches conspicuously at high vantage points, like the tops of trees and poles.
Where it can spot insects, scorpions, lizards, snails, small birds, and rodents moving about at ground level. The bird builds a nest in a tree hole. The clutch of 2–4 eggs is laid. The incubation is shared by both sexes. They are exceptionally aggressive in defense of their nest, taking on raptors and other birds. However, during the breeding season, the male birds will rise to great heights, descending in swoops and dives while uttering harsh, discordant cries.
The bird’s sexes are the same in color. Juveniles do not have the long tail feathers that adults do. The lilac-breasted roller is the national bird of Botswana and Kenya. The bird is often considered one of the most attractive birds in the world, with its pastel plumage, striking field marks, and long tail streamers.
The bird can be found in these colors: buff, white, purple, blue, turquoise, green, black, and tan. These birds are making raspy calls, the pitch does not vary, and the tone has a rattling quality. Although they’re mostly silent, they’re more vocal during the breeding season or when they sense that their territory is in danger.
These rollers are not considered threatened or endangered, though habitat preservation can help keep their population numbers at a stable level. Poaching for the pet trade is a minor threat. The birds have exclusively adapted to one natural disaster. While brush fires can be devastating to numerous animals and birds,.
These rollers will purposely hunt near the edges of fires where prey is fleeing and less wary of predators. These are similar kinds of birds, racket-tailed roller (Coracias spatulatus), abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinicus), Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis), purple roller (Coracias naevius), and European roller (Coracias garrulus).
