Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus Scientific name definitions

27–29 cm; male 94–166 g (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), female 84–149 g. Nominate race has head and upperparts cinnamon-rufous, rump and uppertail-coverts blue, wings dark purple-blue with rufous lesser, median and inner greater coverts; tail shallowly forked, pale blue with blackish-blue centre and tip; chin, throat and underparts lilac, undertail-coverts greyish-blue; bill short, broad, hook-tipped and powerful, bright yellow. Differs from E. gularis in larger size, brighter colours, lilac (not blue) throat, mainly pale blue (not dark brown) uppertail-coverts, blue (not brown) undertail-coverts. Sexes alike. Immature rufous rather than cinnamon, and dull green-blue where adult dark blue; throat brown, rest of underparts pale grey-blue or greenish blue, greater coverts also greenish blue (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); culmen brown. Races differ in size, tone of rufous and lilac parts, and colour of tail-­coverts: afer has slightly brighter upperparts , uppertail-coverts medium blue variably tipped brown, with central rectrices dark brown, undertail-coverts pale blue; aethiopicus similar but larger, with lilac on underparts brighter; <em>suahelicus</em> like aethiopicus, but smaller (14% smaller and nearly 30% lighter in weight than nominate) and considerably brighter , with uppertail-coverts all dull azure-blue, undertail-coverts pale blue.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Woodland, wooded grassland, and cultivated country with some tall trees ; also large clearings and open areas around habitations in rainforest; broad, wooded river valleys with plenty of timber, floodplains, riverine forest, wood and scrub. Typical habitats include Brachystegia, Baikiaea and Acacia woods, highland Podocarpus/Juniperus forest, hillsides, bushveld, fringing forest, and coastal wood, scrub and mangrove; sometimes in quite open grassland with only occasional stands of trees; often in built-up areas and suburban gardens. Occurs at up to 2200 m, occasionally 2500 m, in E Africa; to 1600 m in Madagascar (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), where it occurs in humid forest in E but is much commoner in dry country in NW & W.

Nominate race in Madagascar migrates after breeding to Africa, where present throughout much of DRCongo in Feb–Nov; occurs on passage in Comoro Is (Mar–May, Oct–Nov) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and in E Africa from S Kenya to NE Zimbabwe (mainly Oct–Apr) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); vagrant to Aldabra (annual Oct–Feb, mainly Oct–Nov) and elsewhere in Seychelles (Sept–Feb, mainly Oct–Dec, 16 records prior to 2011), as well as Glorieuses (May), Juan de Nova (Nov–Dec, Apr–May), Europa (possibly regular, Nov, Dec, Apr), Reunion (rare), Kerguelen Is (Nov 1961) (2 Ausilio, E. and Zotier, R. (1989). Vagrant birds at îles Kerguelen, southern Indian Ocean. Cormorant. 17: 9–18. Close ) and Mauritius (Nov) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). African races are partial migrants, but suahelicus also reported from Reunion (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In N tropics, a year-round resident or dry-season visitor during Sept–Jun at low latitudes near rainforest zone, and breeding visitor to S Guinean savanna woodland in Apr–Dec, to N Guinean zone May–Oct, and to Soudanian zone May/Jun–Sept. Migrates through Gambia in flocks. In E Africa, partially vacates Zanzibar and Pemba after breeding, but status on mainland complex. Breeding visitor during Sept–Apr to Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Vagrants recorded twice in Cape Verde Is, and once in Israel (September 2019).

Almost entirely larger insects, mostly ants and termites, also beetles, and some grasshoppers, bush-crickets, cockroaches, bees, wasps, flies; also a few spiders; lizards also recorded as prey, occasionally fruits and seeds (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In Ivory Coast, 80% of items were swarming winged ants and termites (mainly Crematogaster, Oecophylla, Macrotermes and Pseudacanthotermes), with 9% beetles (Curculionidae, Elateridae, Cetoniidae, Scarabaeidae, Cerambycidae, Tenebrionidae, Buprestidae), 7% bugs (Lygaeidae, Pentatomidae, Plataspidae, Reduviidae, Coreidae, Jassidae, Cicadidae). Cicadas may be locally or seasonally very important, e.g. in Madagascar, where never noticed feeding on swarming winged insects or termites (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Spends most of day perched on high bare branch, only rarely flying out to catch passing insect, eaten on wing after chase in buoyant, wheeling flight with fast glides; around 17:00 hours, leaves perch and congregates with others (usually in groups of 6–12 (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but up to c. 280) at hatching swarm of ants or termites, catching them from near ground to well above tree canopy, at rate of up to 10 insects per minute, until late dusk. On Madagascar, sometimes hawks aerial insects in association with Eleonora’s (Falco eleonorae) and Sooty Falcons (F. concolor) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Bird takes single item at a time, and every evening consumes 200–800.

At rest typically gives 4–6 guttural, nasal, snarling or growling notes over period of 3–4 (sometimes up to 20) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) seconds, e.g. “(g)iaow, grrrd, grrrd-grrrd, g-r-g”, a long rattling “g-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-d” or “kik-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-r-r-r-r-r”, each of which may be repeated several times, interlaced with pauses of 2–3 seconds between series (3 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), or with longer pauses of 30 seconds to five minutes (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Many variants, sometimes starting slowly, speeding up and then slowing again, or initial note may be lower and last note higher, or gives shorter “gag-agag gig-kik” or low, rapid, buzzing “dza dza dza”, with the first note emphasized and the whole given up to six times (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In flight gives an excited, screaming chatter, rendered “crik-crik-crik-crik”, which increases in volume and is somethat falcon-like in quality (3 Fry, C. H., K. Fry, and A. Harris (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). During courtship, both members of pair may give laughing “ugh-ugh-ek-kek-kek” (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Lays in Mar–Jul in W Africa, in Jan–Apr and Sept–Nov in E Africa, and in Sept–Dec in S Africa; breeds in Oct–Dec in Madagascar. Monogamous and territorial; pair aggressively defends treetop territory of 15–30 ha, and courts with much calling and aerial chasing. Nest an unlined cavity (once 200 mm wide by 760 mm deep, unlined) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) in top of palm or in trunk or limb of large tree (e.g. Acacia rovumae, Neotina isoneura, Tamarindus indica) (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), occasionally in masonry, rock cavity or sandstone cliff, 6–15 m above ground in Madagascar (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Sometimes takes over hole previously used by parrot, e.g. vasa parrots (Coracopsis spp.) or Grey-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus) in Madagascar (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Clutch of 2–3 white (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) eggs; no information on incubation and fledging periods, though both sexes incubate eggs and provision young (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Low reproductivity recorded in Ivory Coast: 569 adults near Lamto produced only 206 fledglings.

Not globally threatened. Common and widespread in most of sub-Saharan Africa, and common throughout Madagascar except on the high plateau. Seasonal average density of 23 birds/km² in savanna-forest mosaic at Lamto, in Ivory Coast.