THE COMMON ROLLER. ii 



with the Bee-eater, its beautiful plumage has 

 made it a desirable adornment for women's hats, 

 and a great destruction of the species has ensued, 

 though not to the same extent as has taken place 

 with its Indian relative, Coracias indica, whole cases 

 full of which arrive in London from time to time 

 for millinery purposes, along with other equally 

 useful birds, hundreds of Little Owls, Kestrels and 

 other insect-eating species being sent from India 

 to be dyed of brilliant colours, and displayed in 

 women's hats or bonnets. In the case of the 

 unfortunate Rollers, no such improvement of 

 colour is needed, for the bird is one of the 

 brightest of any which inhabit the old world, the 

 contrasting colours of purple and blue on the 

 wing being of singular beauty. 



The species gets its common name of " Roller " 

 from its curious habit of tumbling and rolling 

 about in the air. This habit they display particu- 

 larly in spring at the time of pairing, and Mr. 

 Seebohm suggests that their aerial evolutions are . 

 for the purpose of exhibiting to the females the 

 beautiful colours of their wings and tail. 



By the earlier students of Ornithology, the 

 Roller was classed with the Crows, with which 



