Wings of Wonder: Tracking the Epic Journeys of European Rollers
As dawn breaks across southern Africa, five new European Rollers, fitted with lightweight satellite trackers, take flight, beginning journeys that will span thousands of kilometres and cross entire continents. For BirdLife South Africa, these birds’ migrations offer a rare window into one of nature’s most awe-inspiring spectacles—and a powerful call to action to protect migratory species and the habitats they depend on.
Recognised globally for its vibrant blue plumage and remarkable long-distance travels, the European Roller is experiencing a steady decline across its range, including local extinction in parts of Europe where they once bred. While globally classified as Least Concern, regionally, the species is listed as Near Threatened due to a worrying decline in parts of southern Africa. As these five newly tagged individuals take to the skies, they are not only continuing their species’ ancient migratory tradition; they are also becoming ambassadors for conservation efforts that reach far beyond our borders.
In a groundbreaking effort, BirdLife South Africa, supported by The Royal Portfolio Foundation, Thornybush Nature Reserve and Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, has equipped an additional five European Rollers with satellite trackers, enabling the team to follow their movements in near real-time. These birds will build on the remarkable data first collected in 2024, when a female European Roller named Hera became one of the first individuals from the region to be tracked.
Hera’s journey captured hearts and made history. Over several months, she covered more than 10,000 km from southern Africa to Uzbekistan, stopping in places like Somalia and India along the way. Her migration marked the first confirmed movement of a European Roller between southern Africa and Central Asia – a milestone in global migratory bird research.
Now, the five newly tagged birds will help deepen our understanding of this extraordinary species. By expanding the dataset and tracking additional individuals, we hope to uncover even more about where European Rollers rest, feed and stop along their long migrations. Each data point adds another piece to the puzzle. From the dry savannas of southern Africa to the rugged escarpments of Central Asia, these migratory corridors are under increasing threat. This new data will complement research from Europe and fill critical gaps in our knowledge of migration routes from the southern end of the species’ range. By contributing insights from southern Africa, we strengthen international collaboration and help build a more complete picture of the European Roller’s flyway. Such cross-border cooperation is essential to ensure conservation actions are aligned across countries and continents, safeguarding the species throughout its entire migratory journey.
This year’s World Migratory Bird Day theme — "Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities" — reminds us that protecting migratory birds is not only about safeguarding distant wilderness areas. It’s also about the spaces we share with them every day. As our tagged Rollers travel north, it has been fascinating to see how closely they sometimes skirt towns, farms, and even growing cities, using these shared spaces as vital rest stops during their journey. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring that urban and rural landscapes remain healthy and safe for migratory birds — providing patches of habitat, clean water, and safe passage even in human-dominated areas. By creating these bird-friendly spaces, we can give migratory birds a better chance of survival.
The challenges are clear: habitat loss, climate change, and land degradation all threaten the species’ long-term survival. However, there is hope. Through collective action and continued support for projects like BirdLife South Africa’s European Roller Monitoring Project, we can ensure that these magnificent birds continue to grace our skies for generations to come. Their incredible migration is a reminder of the resilience of nature, and the responsibility we share in protecting it.
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