Purple Roller
Coracias naevius
Woodland. Large roller with rufous underparts streaked white.
Rollers
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Fairly common resident. A large, heavily built roller with a square tail. It has olive-green upper parts, deep purple underparts heavily streaked with white and a conspicuous white eyebrow. Immature is duller. Utters various harsh cackling and cawing sounds. In display makes a continuous ‘ka-raa-ka-raa-ka-raa…’ as it mounts upwards, while the wings appear to beat independently. Usually occurs singly in any woodland or thornveld. Perches fairly low down and is normally less active than other rollers.
Quick Facts
Size
36-40 cm - M
Names
A: Groottroupant
Z: ifefemidwa
Ss: Letleretlere Le Leholo
G: Strichelracke
Bird Family
Colourful, heavy-billed birds with brilliant blue wing-feathers and harsh, croaking voices. They spend much of the day still-hunting from a convenient perch, flying down to catch and eat large insects and other small prey on the ground. They breed in holes in trees (sometimes in holes in cliffs) and have active display flights, which involve violent aerial manoeuvres with much harsh calling.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Usually occurs singly in any woodland or thornveld.
