Good looking bird isn’t it? It’s a Lilac-Breasted Roller and whilst the photo may not compare to that I took when in Africa last year, it certainly shows off beautifully the wonderful colours and hues of the birds plumage. Taken in a walk through enclosure at London Zoo, the Roller had been sitting on the branch for several minutes whilst people bustled around it, and wasn’t in the slightest bit concerned when people invaded it’s personal space as mobile phones were held up almost at beak level to record it’s image using the phones built in camera. Poor thing! I thought one member of public had pushed their look just that little bit too much when the bird flew off until I spotted it had captured an insect in it’s beak, landing away from the branch to devour it, returning back to it’s branch after it had eaten. It must have felt pretty pleased with itself as it then fanned out it’s wings as if it were showing off it’s brightly coloured wing feathers for all to see; in reality it was probably absorbing what little heat there was from the glorious autumnal sunshine. He does look like he’s thinking “Who’s the Daddy”!
Speaking of which, it’s my Dad’s birthday today; he’s currently away on holiday in France where the weather has been much kinder than it has in the UK, as should be the case when it’s your birthday. Anyway, Happy Birthday Dad, hope you had a great day.
Andrew Skelton: 
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