Colours of the Rainbow - Botswana's National Bird

Love these rainbow coloured birds ...   I had hoped to capture the Lilac Breasted Roller in flight or devouring its dinner.  Instead this Roller was happy to pose patiently for my photos.

National bird of Botswana  - What a stunner!!  

The Lilac Breasted Roller is a very colourful, heavy-billed bird with brilliant blue wing-feathers
and harsh, croaking voices.

Rollers spend much of the day hunting from a convenient perch in a tall tree, 

flying down to seize large insects, reptiles and other small prey on the ground.

The Roller is usually found singly or in pairs, sitting on an exposed perch.
The name “roller” is derived from its’ aerial displays which it performs year round. 

Lilac breasted rollers breed in natural tree cavities in trees and have active display flights
which involve aerial manoeuvres with much harsh calling. 
Their food consists of a variety of locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, butterflies and lizards.

The national bird of Botswana is the stunning multi-coloured Lilac Breasted Roller that gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights.  All rollers, including the lilac breasted rollers, are highly territorial. They are also thought to be monogamous.

Lilac Breasted Roller - Coracias caudata

Bye for now

Cheers Jen