Coracias cyanogaster
blue-bellied roller

Blue-bellied rollers are found in western and central Africa, from Senegal eastward to southern Sudan. (Mackworth-Praed and Grant, 1970)

Blue-bellied rollers live in wooded savanna, tree plantations, forest edges, recently burned land, and forests near marshes. These savanna areas are often forest edges, and are rarely more than several tens of meters above sea level. (Cave and MacDonald, 1955; Fry, et al., 1988; Moynihan, 1990)

Blue-bellied rollers are small birds with relatively large heads. They have heavy, downward-curved beaks and short legs to fit their stocky bodies. Blue-bellied rollers have cream-colored heads and chests, with pale-blue bellies and dark blue or dark green wings. These birds have a brownish-black mantle and scapulars with streaks of green. Blue-bellied rollers have azure-blue tails, which are slightly forked. They have an average wingspan of 359 mm, with each wing measuring an average length of 183 mm. Mass ranges from about 110 g to 150 g, with an average mass of 142 g. Blue-bellied rollers are generally about 280 mm to 300 mm in total length. Juveniles are typically smaller than adults, with duller coloration and a shorter tail. There are no known polymorphisms or subspecies. (Cave and MacDonald, 1955; Zoo, 2003/2006; Cave and MacDonald, 1955; Fry, et al., 1988; Zoo, 2003/2006)

Blue-bellied rollers undergo courtship when specific rollers call loudly and raucously to attract their mates. Blue-bellied rollers, along with other "rollers" (Coraciidae), got their name from their unique courtship behaviors, in which they roll back and forth in the sky, tumbling to the ground, while calling loudly and raucously. Blue-bellied rollers are territorial and attack any birds that approach their nests. Males and females engage in a fast chasing flight, described above. One male copulates with one or two females. Blue-bellied rollers are sometimes monogamous and sometimes promiscuous. Male blue-bellied rollers have been known to copulate with two different females in intervals of only ten minutes, up to three males may copulate with the same female. (Fry, et al., 1988; Moynihan, 1990; Zoo, 2003/2006)

Blue-bellied rollers breed in the spring and summer months, from April to July. They generally lay two or three eggs per season. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 18 to 20 days. Both parents feed the nestlings for about 30 days after hatching and for up to twenty days after fledging. Blue-bellied rollers typically become independent after about forty days. There is no information available regarding the age of sexual maturity. (Ali, 2005/2006; Bannerman, 1953; Fry, et al., 1988)

Blue-bellied rollers feed their young by means of regurgitation. Both parents incubate eggs for 18 to 20 days, although most incubation is done by the female parent. Both parents feed nestlings for 30 days and for up to 20 days after fledging. (Ali, 2005/2006; Fry, et al., 1988; Zoo, 2003/2006)

There is no available information on the specific lifespan of blue-bellied rollers, but there is information available pertaining to other species of rollers. European rollers (Coracias garrulus) live for approximately 8.9 years in captivity. (Mackworth-Praed and Grant, 1970)

Blue-bellied rollers are a social species, usually living in groups of three to seven birds, although groups of up to twenty birds have been recorded. Some blue-bellied rollers migrate during the wet season (in winter). Blue-bellied rollers are known for their tendencies to sit in trees at about ten meters off the ground and dive to the forest floor for insects. Blue-bellied rollers flock to forest and savanna fires, where they wait outside the fire and feed on insects fleeing the flames. (Fry, et al., 1988; Zoo, 2003/2006)

The mean density of blue-bellied rollers in savanna habitats is 414 adults per 19.5 square kilometers. Pairs and small groups of blue-bellied rollers often defend territories as large as 10,000 square meters. (Moynihan, 1990)

Social interaction and communication among blue-bellied rollers consists of calling, flying together, and chasing. These activities are used to show territoriality, maintain group unity, and initiate courtship. (Bannerman, 1953; Fry, et al., 1988; Moynihan, 1990; Bannerman, 1953; Fry, et al., 1988; Moynihan, 1990)

Blue-bellied rollers generally feed on large invertebrates such as beetles, grasshoppers, winged ants and termites. Blue-bellied rollers also feed on some small vertebrates, including colubrid snakes. They also eat oil-palm fruits. (Fry, et al., 1988; Zoo, 2003/2006)

Blue-bellied rollers are not heavily preyed on. In open savanna environments, blue-bellied rollers are typically large, powerful, and agile enough to escape most predators, such as carnivorous mammals and rodents, snakes, and hawks. Eggs, nestlings, and fledglings are most vulnerable. Blue-bellied rollers are less aggressive toward potential predators than they are to other animals that invade their territory. (Moynihan, 1990)

Blue-bellied rollers act as predators towards large insect populations in central and western Africa. Because of their territorial habits they may benefit the trees they inhabit for shelter by warding off other animals that attempt to feed on the leaves. (Fry, et al., 1988; Moynihan, 1990; Zoo, 2003/2006)

Blue-bellied rollers are well-adapted to living in regions dominated by agriculture. They probably play a key role in pest control for farmers in these areas by eating insects which may otherwise feed on crops.

There are no known adverse effects of blue-bellied rollers on humans.

Blue-bellied rollers have been placed in the lower risk/least concern category in the IUCN Red List in 1988, 1994 and 2000. These birds are not currently in any danger of extinction. ("IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species", 2001)