The secrets of the lilac-breasted roller bird

THE habits of many birds found in the north of Namibia are known, but the sleeping and egg-laying patterns of one bird remain a mystery.

The robust and large-headed lilac-breasted roller bird, or the Coracias caudatus belonging to the Coraciidea family, is largely unknown.

Ananias Shikongo (75), a resident of Otuwala village in the Oshana region’s Okatana constituency with a keen interest in birds, says he has not seen this bird’s breeding site.

Locally known as makaya, this multi-coloured bird is considered ‘a bird of secrets’.

“This is a very clever bird, because it stays away from people,” Shikongo says.

He says he was told the bird sleeps on lower tree branches, especially those of jackalberry trees, locally known as oomwandi.

Shikongo says it is well known that the bird feeds on insects on the ground, but is often seen high up in trees or on poles.

Blasius Elago (66), a resident of Oniimwandi village in the Oshakati West constituency, does not know where the bird sleeps.

“I have also not seen an egg, chick or nest of this bird. We only see them during the day in search of insects in the fields,” Elago says.

According to Wikipedia, the lilac-breasted roller bird is widely found in sub-Saharan Africa.

It prefers woodland and savanna and is mostly absent from treeless areas.

The bird is usually found alone or in pairs, perching conspicuously on the tops of trees, poles or other high points from where it can spot insects, lizards, scorpions, snails, small birds and rodents on the ground.

During the breeding season, the male will rise to a fair height of 69 to 144 m, descending in swoops and dives, while uttering harsh, discordant cries.

The sexes are different in colouration, and juveniles lack the long tail streamers of the adult.

Nesting takes place in natural holes or in trees where a clutch of two to four eggs are laid and incubated by both parents, who are extremely aggressive in defence of their nest and taking on raptors and other birds, Wikipedia states.

The bird is decorated with eight colours: green, white, black, yellow, turquoise, dark blue, reddish brown and lilac.

The bird is currently not listed as endangered, and is officially considered as Kenya’s national bird.

In protected areas, lilacs are among the bird species that frequent the verges of roads and fires – which stirs up insects and other vertebrates on which to prey.

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