The lilac-breasted roller is this week’s bird of the week
The lilac-breasted roller is an African bird of the roller family. It has a lilac breast, rusty cheeks and spring green crown.
THE lilac-breasted roller is a common resident across South Africa, found in the northern parts of KZN, but absent from the south and west.
They are usually solitary or in pairs and like the savanna and open woodland, where they feed on insects, scorpions, centipedes, snails, frogs, small snakes, lizards, small birds and rodents. They are attracted to grassfires.
These rollers perch conspicuously on top of a bush, tree or telephone wire, flying to the ground to catch prey. Their flight is fast and high and they rock from side to side with wings closed when diving to perch.
They have a harsh ‘chuk’ call, often repeated when agitated and in flight the call is ‘grak grak grarrak’.
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Breeding takes place from August to December. The nest is a natural hole in a tree about two to six metres above the ground. Two to four white eggs are laid. The incubation period is 17 to 18 days and nestling over 20 days.
The isiZulu name is iFefe and in Afrikaans die gewone troupant.
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