Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Broad-billed Roller

Broad-billed Roller

Eurystomus glaucurus

The Broad-billed Roller, Eurystomus glaucurus, presents a delightful palette of colors, measuring 29-30 cm in length. It boasts a warm-toned back and head, a lilac foreneck and breast, and a predominantly brown plumage. The species is distinguished by its bright yellow, broad bill. Both sexes are similar in appearance, while the juvenile is a more subdued version of the adult, with a paler breast.

Identification Tips

In flight, the Broad-billed Roller is unmistakable, displaying a strong and direct flight pattern. The brilliant blues of the wings and tail create a striking contrast against the brown back, making it a spectacle when observed in motion.

Habitat

This species favors open woodlands adorned with tall trees, showing a preference for areas in proximity to water. The Broad-billed Roller often perches conspicuously on trees, posts, or overhead wires, reminiscent of giant shrikes in their stature and poise.

Distribution

The Broad-billed Roller is a widespread resident across tropical Africa and Madagascar, avoiding only the most arid regions. It is a migratory bird, moving from the northern and southern extents of its range towards the equatorial belt during the dry season.

Behaviour

Most of the day, the Broad-billed Roller remains inactive, save for the occasional defense of its territory. However, as the afternoon wanes, they become more active, often congregating in groups of up to 100 to feed on swarming ants and termites. They exhibit a unique drinking behavior, skimming water surfaces with their bills while in flight.

Song & Calls

The vocalization of the Broad-billed Roller is a distinctive snarling sound, described as a "k-k-k-k-k-r-r-r-r-r," which can be heard during its aerial displays.

Breeding

Breeding occurs in tree cavities, where the Broad-billed Roller nests in an unlined hole and lays a clutch of 2-3 eggs.

Similar Species

While unique in its broad bill and coloration, the Broad-billed Roller may be confused with other roller species. However, its flight pattern and calls are good distinguishing features.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Broad-billed Roller primarily consists of ants and termites, which they catch in flight during their late afternoon foraging sessions.

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List classifies the Broad-billed Roller as Least Concern, indicating that, currently, there are no immediate threats to its population numbers.

Broad-billed Roller Sounds

β€Œ
Recorded by: © 
App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Broad-billed Rollers on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Rollers

A photo of a Abyssinian Roller (Coracias abyssinicus)

Abyssinian Roller

Coracias abyssinicus
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Foxgirl100
Great app for beginner twitchers
I’ve had a passion of photographing birds for a long time now but have only just gotten into proper birdwatching, and this app is brilliant for those just getting started. There is a great sense of community among users and the app is very easy to use and professional. Awesome app altogether
Emma L
App got me interested in birding!
Super friendly community <3 This app got me interested in birding! It teaches me cool stuff and its super friendly, and fun :) The species guide is really developing my knowledge, and i love seeing cool new birds from round the world!
Chudbond
Love Birda
I love this app. It really encourages you to log your sightings and the community is friendly and helpful.
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
Alex J
Friendly and helps to identify birds
Great birding app, good for logging your sightings, also has nice species guide. I'm enjoying the social aspect more than I expected, everyone seems friendly and helps to identify unknown birds. Good mix of newbies and experienced users.
Marlster24
Recommend for any bird watcher
Very wholesome app: I joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter πŸ˜ƒ
Madstherangers
A mordern game changer
Birda is an awesome app, its updated the world of birding to the modern day with a fun and easy to use app. It’s engaging and allows positive interaction with fellow bird lovers!
Erna M
I really like Birda
I really like Birda. I also use other birding apps and have Birda with E-bird going at the same time.
Jane N
A great app
Enjoying it immensely and finding it useful too. Recording the different birds and counting them is showing me how the present climate is affecting them all. I've trebled the numbers by planting native hedging. A great app.
Nedz53
Really useful
Downloaded to give it a try, everything worked perfectly, recorded my first bird watching walk. Very impressed. Have already recommended to friends!
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright Β© 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.