Rufous-crowned Roller

Gorgeous. So many birds. So little time.

Passerine??? Errmm..

Wonderful picture though, thanks for sharing.

Darren bet met to it. Rollers are not passerines, but members of the Coraciiformes (among other things, they don't have the specialised passerine foot).

Suboscines (which are a subgroup of passerines) include the American tyrant flycatchers, antbirds, and such, as well as the Old World broadbills and pittas.

yikes, how stupid. i guess it's time for me to turn in the PhD. on the other hand, it completely destroyed my life anyway, so i guess it matters not.

I find it interesting that all the roller species (that I've seen anyways) have very symmetrical and equal shaped mandibles EXCEPT for the very tip of the upper mandible which has that fine/sharp little hook to it. Must come in handy when doing surgery on a rodent or lizard. It is easy to miss the little hook unless you are looking at them closely.

As anyone would know who has attempted to take photos of birds through wire, it is very annoying and difficult (and usually accompanied by a string of profanity). This particular photo of the Rufous Roller was a lucky one for sure. The bird was sitting in just the right spot in the aviary that I could angle my lens to focus through the 1/2" wire. A few inches in either direction and I would not have gotten the photo. Taking photos in walkthrough aviaries is so much more pleasurable. ;-)

John