An interesting sighting from Hungary: a roller with a broken beak
2017.08.22. 12:40
Although we already finished the checking of the nestboxes in July, the season still provides us with surprises…
A roller with a broken lower beak (Fotó: András Kleszó).
The photos shown in this article were made by national park ranger András Kleszó in the Bükkalja region of Hungary in the Bukk National Park Directorate. The reason why the beak of this bird broken is unknown, but there is evidence that this roller not only survives (it’s clearly healthy), but also raises 3 chicks in one of our artificial nestboxes. The chicks were about 20 days old at the time of our visit, they were in great condition, proving that this adult had no problem feeding them.
Fotó: András Kleszó
It is hard to imagine how can this individual hunt, and catch prey, but it’s always interesting to see examples of animals faring well against all odds even with a potentially fatal disadvantage. Another example is the one-eyed barn swallow of a nearby village, that has been observed to return to the same nest year after year , carrying out its migration with only one eye.
Flóra Hák, András Kleszó