martes, 10 de junio de 2025

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

 

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

The solitary European Roller (Coracias garrulus) was still present in the same area of Tacande (El Paso) this morning, June 10.

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

Rather than trying to track down this shy bird on foot, the best strategy for getting close views is to wait at a spot with wide views of the foraging area, and then hope that the Roller perches close by at some point. This morning, the patient waiting paid dividends.

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

From 07:45 until just after 10:00, the bird was visible at long range, hunting prey from a variety of lookouts. 

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

It wasn´t until about 10:10 that the Roller took flight and after swooping around for a while, finally landed on a bare twig a mere 20-30 metres from where I was standing (together with Fran Leal who had joined me an hour previously). The photographs shown here are the result of this stroke of good luck.

lunes, 9 de junio de 2025

European Roller

 

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

On June 7 a Roller sp. was reported on eBird, with a good photograph and details of the location provided by the observer.  

The following morning I coincided with a veritable avalanche of locals at the site: no less than three of us with binoculars, plus three other people who were accompanying one of the birders. Quite a turn out for La Palma!

Teaming up with fellow eBirder Fran Leal, we eventually found the spectacular Roller, after crossing some heavily overgrown fields to reach a vantage point from where we could scan the surroundings.


European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

The photos included in the present post were taken today, June 9, in the same area of Tacande (El Paso), and effectively clinch the identity of this bird at species level. There had been some doubt between European and Abyssinian Rollers.

However, the black, rather than blue trailing edge of the upper wings, and the black flight feathers on the underwing both point to European Roller (C. garrulus), rather than Abyssinian (C. abyssinia). 

The lack of long tail streamers was an obvious argument in favour of the European Roller, but some other features of the plumage had left room for doubt, in the absence of close-range views and/or clear photos.

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

To my knowledge there is at least one previous record of European Roller (C. garrulus) on La Palma: a single individual seen by RPE on July 3, 2004. Elsewhere in the archipelago, "Rare Birds of the Canary Islands" (Lynx Edicions, June 2013) lists 2 sightings from Tenerife, 3 from Gran Canaria, 1 from Fuerteventura, and 6 from Lanzarote, all recorded between the months of April and August.

European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

This passage migrant seems to have found ideal habitat on the stony hillsides of Tacande, where dry branches of scattered trees serve as lookouts for hunting insects. However, despite boldly perching out in the open, the bird does not allow close approach and quickly takes flight at the sight of people.