soon as they leave the nest, although Keeping and breeding the the coloration could be described as being softer and not quite as intense in its brightness. The bird in the Lilac,breasted Roller accompanying photograph was among the first Lilac-breasted Rollers (Coracias caudata) to be reared at Birdworld and is pho­ byRoger Sweeney tographed here at five months ofage. formerly Uvestock Manager The wild distribution of this bird Birdworld Bird Park covers Somalia and Ethiopia through Holt Pound, Farnham, Surrey, U.K. east and central Africa. Although spor­ adically available throughout avicul­ tural history, the Lilac-breasted Roller As the movement of birds between recent years is the Lilac-breasted has never been considered to be different countries becomes increas­ Roller (Coracias caudata). "commonly kept" and has only ingly restricted, one avicultural group I have long rated birds of the genus recently begun to be consistently bred that will become increasingly more Coracias among my personal favor­ in reasonable numbers. difficult to maintain in aviculture will ites. Birdworld Bird Park in Farnham, The husbandry requirements of Cor­ be softbills. Already, as the number of England, currently maintains three acias rollers are easily met. Accom­ species imported into the United species from this genus. Out ofthese it modation, in the form of a large Kingdom CU.K.) has dwindled, a harsh is the Lilac-breasted Roller which was planted aviary will suit them. In Eng­ spotlight is being cast on some species the first to breed and has proved to be land and other temperate countries of as to whether or not they can be real­ the most productive species, the other the world, the additional need of a istically sustained as a captive popula­ two species which are the European heated shelter for the winter period tion in future years. This situation has (c. garralus) and the Racquet-tailed will be required. Although rollers are seen many formerly common species (C.spatulata) have not, to date, generally hardy they are particularly become scarce and by comparison matched the level ofsuccessful breed­ prone to suffering from foot problems some formerly rare species, with the ing that has been achieved with the during periods of cold weatl1er. High aid of concentrated avicultural atten­ former. aviaries are much preferred by rollers tion, becoming well established. One The stout, prominent physical pos­ who seem to enjoy perching in a species which has managed to estab­ ture of rollers make them impressive prominent position, but only if this is lish itself in U.K. aviculture during aviary birds. Measuring up to 30 cm available well above human head 01-1/2 inches) in overall length, height. Aviaries which allow for the they have a stocky, rounded body nest box to be situated in a high posi­ with short, broad wings and tail. The tion also seem to prove to be much head is pronounced as with all the more successful. The diet at Birdworld Coraciformes. This bold stature of the for rollers consists of equal parts of bird is enhanced by their preference fruit and a meat mix. The fruit seg­ for roosting in a high, prominent posi­ ment of the diet is made up from a tion. In the wild they can frequently variety of seasonally available fruits. be seen sitting on top of telegraph The meat mix contains minced ox 'LORIIDAE poles and are visible from some dis­ heart, soaked S.D.S. Zoo pellets and a ;; PRODUCTION tance. In captivity a high central perch commercial insectivorous mix. Live NETWORK will soon be adopted as the regular food is supplied daily in the form of perching pOSition within an aviary. offers: mealworms fed on the main dish and The call consists of a short series of also locusts and crickets being fed ad "Lories Delight" chattering notes. lib during the summer. If wild-caught - a natural diet for lories, may be fed In coloration, the Lilac-breasted Rol­ birds are ever worked with then the dry, used as a nectar or as a hand ler shares the usual color scheme of regular feeding of a variety of live feeding formula. other Coracias species. Various pastel foods does, of course, become of (Free Sample) shades of brown, beige and white much greater significance. ****** combine over the head and down the The subject of the rollers' courtship Lorles - Handfed young and adults. back which contrast strikingly against flight has been widely discussed ****** the varying shades of light to royal recently as to its importance in repro­ "Lorles and Lorlkeets in Aviculture" blue which cover much of the wings ductive success. I do not believe that book of up-to-date information on and under body in a typical Coracias allowing the birds an aviary high keeping and breeding lories­ pattern. The Lilac-breasted Roller, as enough for them to perform their $49.95 plus $3.00 sm. its common name suggests, stands courtship flights is absolutely essential easily distinguishable from its close in order to breed them in captivity. John Vanderhoof relatives because ofthe rich lilac band But large aviaries are certainly benefi­ P.O. Box 575, Woodlake, CA 93286 across the lower neck and chest. cial in helping the birds remain in (209) 564-3610 Fledging birds have exactly the same good physical condition and if such plumage patterns as their parents as aviaries do allow for courtship flights 38 June / July 1993 to be performed then this sight will undoubtedly add greatly to the pleas­ ure of anyone keeping these birds. If Judge us by the company we keep rollers are to be reproductively suc­ cessful then they must be in good physical health and well exercised. On the occasions when I have housed these birds indoors in more confined accommodation because of harsh weather, then on their return to out­ side aviaries, they were sluggish in their flight and had certainly lost peak physical condition without regular fly­ ing exercise. Accurate sexing of Coracias is achieved by surgical laparoscopy or by blood testing. Slight physical differ­ ences can sometimes be seen in true USDA • u.s. Center for Disease Control • Mayo Clinic • Saudi Royal Family pairs and cock birds are generally Sloan-Kettering Institute • Walt Disney World • Busch Gardens • Opryland slightly heavier; such characteristics Six Flags • Lion Country Safari • U.S. Army • U.S. Air Force • VA Hospitals are, though, highly interpretable and Countless Zoos • Universities and Game Preserves throughout the Free World cannot be relied upon. Pairing of rol­ lers is usually a straight forward and unproblematic procedure as long as Write for our free catalog! both birds are in equally strong physi­ cal condition. Rollers do not exhibit The Humidaire Incubator Company any form of close bonding even Department W, P.O. Box 9, New Madison, OH 45346-0009 between an established pair. Success­ ful pairing seems then to depend more on both birds being in good (513) 996-3001 • FAX (513) 996-3633 condition at the start of the breeding Serving the world for 61 years season, rather than any form of pair bonding being present between the birds. ever introduce birds of un­ equal fitness as the stronger bird will ruthlessly enforce its advantage over its cohabitant. For the same reason, a close eye should be kept on estab­ lished pairs if one bird regularly begins moult before its paltner. Nest boxes used successfully at Birdworld for Lilac-breasted Rollers Experience are of the 45° sloped design and measure 80 cm x 25 cm x 25 cm (31" x ttEKTOtt! 10" x 10"). The entrance hole is posi­ tioned towards the higher end of the The most Benefits. front facing sloping panel and meas­ per Dollar. ure Scm (2/1) in diameter. A perch should be secured close to the entrance hole which will be used by FOR INFORMATION ON the cock bird on his repeated trips to NEKTON·S AND OUR OTHER and from the nest box while feeding FINE PRODUCTS CALL... tlle hen once she is incubating eggs. A NEKTON, U.S.A. mixture of peat, sand and fine wood shavings is used as a medium inside 14405 60th St. North Clearwater, FL 34620 ofthe nest box. Nesting is usually initi­ Phone (813) 530-3500 ated with little advanced warning Fax (813) 539-0647 other than the sudden disappearance of the hen from the aviary. The clutch .- size is commonly two to three eggs. Incubation of the eggs and brooding of any resulting chicks is undertaken exclusively by tile hen. The cock bird, afa WATCHBIRD 39 >­ Q) resort to this again as the adult birds C <D Q) have, to date, proved reliable parents. ~ C/) The young birds produced by this Q5 0> husbandry seem to be just as good as o a:: >­ parent reared stock. Although hand .D o reared birds became slightly imprinted <5 ..c. ~ towards the end of their rearing per­ iod at weaning, calling repeatedly to their rearing keeper for food, this imprinted behavior was quickly lost once the birds were introduced to an aviary and most of the 1989 hand reared birds have now gone forward to successfully parent rear chicks of their own. The few times that artificial incuba­ tion of eggs was undertaken from day one, incubation of this species seemed to be easily undertaken. Inter­ nal pip usually takes place on day 17. A weight loss target of 15 percent is ain1ed for fron1 the fresh laid weight to the time of internal pip. Incubation temperature was maintained at 37.5°C (99.5°P) without variation. The eggs were turned on rollers, but also by hand seven till1es daily by rotating the air sac end of the egg 1800 over its axis, always in alternating directions.