Order Coraciiformes / Kingfishers, Rollers, and Bee-eaters

The word Coraciiformes originates from the Latin language which means “Raven-Like” (i.e., Coracii – Raven & formes – form). Ironically, the ravens belong to another bird class passerines.

There are 6 direct families in order Coraciiformes:

• Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)
• Brachypteraciidae (Ground Rollers)
• Coraciidae (Rollers)
• Meropidae (Bee-eaters)
• Momotidae (Motmots)
• Todidae (Todies)

Here are the common characteristics of birds in Coraciiformes:

• These colorful birds in this order include the kingfishers, the bee-eaters, the rollers, the motmots, and the todies.
• Most of the birds in this order have the front three toes fused at the base. This phenomenon is called Syndactyly.
• The legs of Coraciiformes are short, and the feet are weak.
• One of the typical features of this order is a long and large bill.
• Most Coraciiformes have a large head as well.
• The neck in coraciiform birds is usually short.
• Most of the species spend a significant part of their life on trees.
• Coraciiformes are spread out in all parts of the world except the cold regions such as Antarctica, Greenland or Russia.
• Most of the species in this order have a very bright, colorful plumage with different distinct patterns.

Here are some of the examples of the birds that belong to this order:

• Abyssinian roller, Coracias abyssinicus
• Purple dollarbirds
• Belted kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
• Black-faced kingfisher
• Rosy bee-eater, Merops malimbicus
• Madagascar bee-eater
• Tody mormot
• Broad-billed tody, Todus subulatus
• Puerto Rican tody, Todus mexicanus
• Crested Kingfisher, Todus mexicanus