lo: 



Bii/ish Birds. 



THE ABYSSINIAN 



ROLLER. 

 {Coracins abysshiiciis.) 



itself in a bank. There is generally no attempt at 



a nest, but sometimes a few twigs or stems of grass 



are collected as an apology for one. 



Tile Roller winters in Eastern and Southern Africa, 



and, more sparingly', in North-western India. It arrives 



in its breeding-home in April, and is found throughout 



Central and Southern Europe, nesting as far north as 



Southern Sweden, and as far east as Cashmere. 



Two specimens of this 

 purel)' African species are said 

 to have been shot in Scotland, 

 in 1857. It is a most unlikely 



bird to occur away from its African home, and one 



would almost think that some mistake must have 



taken place in the identification. The Abvssinian 



Roller is an exact counterpart of Coracins ganiilns, 



excepting that the outer tail-feather on each side is 



prolonged into a long black ' streamer.' Its home is in Senegambia and Abyssinia. 



A single specimen was shot near Louth in Lincolnshire, 

 on the 27th of October, 1883, and was at first supposed to be 

 an example of the Common Roller. It has since been 

 identified b}' Mr. Cordeaux as the Indian species, which 



differs from C. garnihis in the colour of the under parts, as can be seen by the 



figures of the two birds. The Indian Roller is, as its name implies, an inhabitant of 



the Indian Peninsula, but it extends westward into Asia Minor. 



The Common Roller. 



THE INDIAN 

 ROLLER. 



(Coracias indiciis.) 



Thi: Indl^n Roller. The Anv.'-siNiAN Rollep. 



