THE ROLLERS. 



71 



Coracias and Eiirystomus. They are all birds of brilliant 

 plumage, especially remarkable for the bright blue colour of 

 the wings and tail ; but the Broad-billed Rollers {Eiirystomns), 

 which have a wide and slightly-hooked bill, are found in 

 Africa and the Indian and Australian Regions, even extending 

 to China and Eastern Siberia, while the True Rollers, which 

 have a much narrower and more slender bill, are not found in 

 the Australian Region at all. 



THE TYPICAL ROLLERS. GENUS CORACIAS. 



Coracias, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 150 (1766). 

 Type, C. garruhis (L.). 



As has been already mentioned, the Rollers are somewhat 

 like Crows in shape, and it is doubtless this Corvine aspect 

 and the brilliant blue of their plumage that leads to their 

 being called '* Jays " in so many countries, particularly in 

 India. The bill is also Corvine, and the nostrils are placed 

 near the base of the upper mandible, and are hidden by bristly 

 plumes. The tail consists of twelve feathers, and the outer- 

 most on each side is sometimes produced to a considerable 

 length in some African species. The Common Roller likewise 

 exhibits a tendency to an elongation of the outer tail-feather. 

 The base of the bill is beset with several strong bristles. 



I. THE COMMON ROLLER. CORACIAS GARRULUS. 



Coracias garrulus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 159 (1766); Macg. Br. B. 

 iii. p. 540 (1840); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 141, pi. 293 

 (1871); Newton, ed. Yarr. ii. p. 428 (1881); B. O. U. 

 List Br. B. p. 82 (1883); Seebohm, Br. B. ii. p. 321 

 (1884); Saunders, Man. p. 271 (1889) ; Lilford, Col. Fig. 

 Br. B. part xii. (1890); Sharpe, Cat. B. xvii. p. 15 (1892). 



{.Plate XXXV.) 



Adult Male. — General colour above light tawny-brown ; head 

 greenish-blue, the forehead and eyebrow whitish, the hinder 

 part of the latter greenish-blue like the crown ; lores black ; 

 fore part of cheeks and chin white ; sides of face, cheeks, and 



