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Purple Roller
Coracias naevius Daudin, 1800
Coraciidae — Rollers
Purple Roller, Coracias naevius, is a roller that breeds widely across Africa and was described by Daudin in 1800. It is a medium-sized bird of dry thornveld, where it often sits high in thorn trees or on poles. Its plumage is rather subdued for a roller, with a brownish look at a distance, a white line above the eye, a white patch on the nape and a dark tail. The crown varies between northern and southern populations, and the underparts are purplish-pink with white streaking. It gives a harsh, grating call.
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Coraciidae — Rollers
- Breeding range
- Africa: widespread
