Coracias garrulus

The European Roller is classified as Vulnerable (VU) because of the rapid decline in its population size, which has exceeded 10% over three generations (16.8 years). In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as Near Threatened (NT). The change in its status reflects a deterioration in the population status, as well as improvement in the quality of the data and differences in assessment methods.

Breeding In Israel	Breeder
Migration Types	Long Range
Zoographical Zones	Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian
Landscape Types	Mountainous, Plains & Valleys, Wide Wadis, Cliffs, Rural Area
Vegetation Types	Mediterranean Maquis, Mediterranean Garrigue, Steppe
Vegetation Densities	Medium, Low
Nest Locations	Cliffs, Mountainside
Diet Types	Invertebrate
Foraging Grounds	Ground
Body Sizes	Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors	Pesticide Poisoning, Tree planting, Habitat loss and fragmentation

The size and form of the European Roller resemble a “small corvid”, such as a Jackdaw, and its raucous calls are similar to a raven. Its plumage is sky-blue, except for its back that is chestnut brown. In flight, it displays a prominent wing pattern, with turquoise blue coverts, contrasting with dark blue-black primary feathers. Flight is nimble, with relatively slow, strong rhythmic wingbeats.

A summer breeder in the Golan Heights, the Northern Valleys, the Jordan Valley, the Judean Lowlands and the Northern Negev, and a relatively common migrant throughout Israel. Its main nesting concentrations at present are in the southern Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley and the northwestern Negev. Until the 1960s, it was very common throughout Israel’s Mediterranean region, but then its population declined sharply due to pesticide poisoning (Shirihai 1996, Paz 2013). In the 1980s, the population was estimated at 500-1,000 pairs, but since then the species has receded from most of the Galilee, Carmel, Judea and Samaria and the Coastal Plain, and its current population estimate is 500 pairs at the most.

The European Roller breeds in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, east to Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Western China). All its populations winter in Africa south of the Sahara. In Europe, there have been severe declines in population sizes but on a global scale, the species is still classified as Least Concern (LC).

No specific conservation measures have been taken for this species to date.

• פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.

• Mendelssohn, H. 1975. Report on the Status of Some Bird Species in Israel in 1974. I.C.B.P. 12:265-270.
• Shirihai, H., 1996. The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.
• Symes, A. 2013. Species generation lengths. Unpublished, BirdLife International.
• Species page at Birdlife International