Page 254 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

KINGFISHERS, BEE-EATERS, ROLLERS,AND HOOPOE
Families Alcedinidae, Meropidae, Coraciidae, Upupidae
KINGFISHERS, BEE-EATERS,
ROLLERS, AND HOOPOE

HESE SPECIES AND THE woodpeckers fall ROLLERS ALERT
Tbetween the swifts and nightjars and the Rather crow- A Roller perches upright
on the edge of
Passerines (perching or song birds) and are often like in character, a tree, looking
termed “near passerines”.They are grouped Rollers are much for prey.
here for convenience rather than for any more more colourful,
meaningful relationship. especially in mid-
summer when paler
KINGFISHERS feather edges have worn
The “original” kingfisher from which the family away to reveal the rich
takes its name,the European species is a fish-eater colours beneath.
(others are dry land birds that catch insects). It is
often first detected by its piercing call or a splash HOOPOE
as it dives for a fish. Striking and boldly patterned in a photograph,
the Hoopoe is often surprisingly inconspicuous
BEE-EATERS as it shuffles on the ground in the dappled light
True to their name, bee-eaters do eat bees and and shade beneath a hedge or
wasps, wiping away their stings against a perch, in a sunny orchard. Only
but they also catch many other insects in when it flies does it suddenly
their acrobatic, swooping and gliding catch the eye.
flight.They breed socially, nesting
in burrows in earth banks.

BOLDLY BARRED
The Hoopoe has broad
black and white bands
JEWEL-LIKE over its back and wings.
The Bee-eater is a
beautifully patterned
bird, its mixture of
colours appealing
rather than gaudy.

FISHING
The European Kingfisher plunge-
dives into water to catch fish. A
transparent membrane protects
the eye during the dive.

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