CORACIIFORMES of Europe
The Coraciiformes are very colorful birds. They reside mainly in the Old World, but there are also some in the New World. Some include the hornbills and trogons in this order, but that will not be done
here.
Rollers
Order Coraciiformes Family Coraciidae
The rollers get their name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. They reside in warm climates of the Old World. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one. They are mainly insect eaters. Rollers nest in an unlined hole in a tree or in masonry. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
Genus Coracias
Roller, European Coracias garrulus Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
Photographed by: 1, 2) Arno Meintjes 3) Christian Svane
Genus Upupa - 1 species
Hoopoe Upupa epops Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The African Hoopoe is now considered to be a subspecies, U. e. africana, not a separated species.
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