Abyssinian Roller

The Abyssinian Roller, like all rollers, is probably one of the birds that every ornithologist or photographer loves to encounter, impossible to miss, its size ranges from 28 to 31 cm (42 cm with its two rectrices!). Its colorful plumage attracts the eye: the forehead and chin are white, the black eye is marked with a sharp black loral line that goes to a strong, also black beak. Its nape is blue-turquoise, the mantle and scapulae are brown, when the bird is in flight, three different shades of blue are distinctly seen on the top of the wings: the small and medium coverts are blue-marine, the large coverts and primary coverts are blue-turquoise, and finally the primaries become a very deep blue-marine. Still in flight, but seen from below, only two colors remain, blue-turquoise for the underwing and blue-marine for the primaries. The blue-turquoise chest is marked with faint white stripes and the belly becomes very light blue-azure. The tail is blue-marine, almost black in the center and blue-turquoise on the edges, and finally the Abyssinian Roller's last stroke of vanity: two large black rectrices which make the bird appear larger. The short tarses are pale gray.