THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 145 



Courtship. — The male towers up in the air and swoops 

 down. 



Nest. — A hole in a tree, bank, or building, sometimes 

 roughly lined, sometimes not. 



Food. — Almost exclusively animal, consisting of insects 

 and any small vertebrates they can swallow whole, 

 for they do not use their feet in holding food. 

 They usually watch for food from a fixed perch, 

 and dart down on it. They cast up pellets. 



Gait. — ^The long-winged forms seldom move on the 

 ground, and do so by hops ; the short-winged 

 Ground Rollers run about actively. 



Flight. — The ordinary long-winged Rollers fly strongly, 

 with an easy flapping flight, sometimes tumbling 

 over, or playing other antics on the wing. The 

 flight of the short-winged kinds is weak. 



Note. — Loud and harsh, a croak or cackle. They are 

 rather noisy birds. 



Disposition and Habits. — ^They are sluggish and un- 

 sociable ; vicious and not very intelligent. They 

 usually sit with the throat feathers puffed out, 

 and often jerk the tail. 



Economic Qualities. — Besides their very ornamental 

 appearance, they are recommended by their great 

 usefulness as vermin-destroyers. 



Captivity. — They will live well in an aviary, and one 

 species, the Common European Roller {Coracias 

 garrula), has bred under such conditions. 



Distribution and Important Species. — The family^ 

 including about three dozen species, falls into two 

 types : the ordinary long- winged, short-legged 

 Rollers {Coraciince), found all over the warmer parts 

 of the Old World ; of these the Common Roller 

 (C. garmhis) sometimes visits England, and the 

 Indian Roller (C indicus) is well known in India 

 as the " Blue- jay " ; the short-winged, long-legged 

 Ground Rollers [BrachypteraciincB) are confined 



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