io6 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



the Roller is gregarious, and continues gregarious for 

 some time after arriving at its breeding grounds. These 

 flocks eventually disband into pairs, and scatter them- 

 selves over the country, but Canon Tristram asserts that 

 he met with this bird breeding in a colony in Palestine. 

 It is probable that the Roller pairs for life, but whether 

 it returns to one particular spot to breed each season 

 I am unable to say. The favourite breeding grounds 

 of the Roller are open woodlands, and broad plains 

 studded with clusters of trees. I found it in Algeria 

 most partial to park-like country ; it is said also to 

 frequent river valleys, where the banks are steep. 

 During the love season the Roller often indulges in 

 curious aerial evolutions, something after the manner of 

 a Tumbler Pigeon, male and female chasing each other, 

 and very noisy. The Roller makes its nest in a hole of 

 a tree, or in the crevice of a rock, but holes in banks or 

 walls are almost as frequently selected. When in trees, 

 no nest is made, and the eggs rest upon the powdered 

 wood at the bottom, but when in other situations a slight 

 nest of dry grass, twigs, roots, and occasionally a few 

 feathers is formed. The bird does not always excavate 

 the hole itself, for in Algeria the timber was full of suitable 

 hollows ready made, but in many cases it certainly does 

 so. The Roller is a close sitter, often allowing itself 

 to be dragged out of its retreat without any attempt to 

 escape. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Roller are from four to six in number, 

 sometimes only three. They are globular in form, highly 

 polished, and pure white. They vary a good deal in size 

 and shape. Average measurement, 1*4 inch in length by 

 I 'I inch in breadth. Incubation, performed by both sexes, 

 lasts from eighteen to twenty days. 



Diagnostic characters : It is impossible to give 



