Noun

Singular roller

Plural rollers

roller (plural rollers)

1. anything that rolls
2. any rotating cylindrical device that is part of a machine, especially one used to apply or reduce pressure
3. (cricket) a heavy rolling device used to flatten the surface of the pitch
4. a large, wide, curling wave that falls back on itself as it breaks on a coast
5. a cylindrical tool for applying paint or ink
6. an agricultural machine used for flattening land and breaking up lumps of earth
7. a tumbling pigeon
8. any of various aggressive birds, of the family Coraciidae, having bright blue wings and hooked beaks
9. (also written Roller) a car made by Rolls-Royce
10. the police (old blues slang)
11. a padded surcingle that is used on horses for training and vaulting

Derived terms

• light roller
• heavy roller
• hair roller
• high roller
• paint roller
• road roller
• steam roller
• roller bearing
• roller blade
• roller skate

The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights.

Rollers resemble crows in size and build, ranging from 25 to 27 centimetres in length. They share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one. Their calls are "repeated short, gruff caws".

They are insect eaters, with Eurystomus species taking their prey on the wing, and those of the genus Coracias catching it on the ground. They often perch prominently whilst hunting, like giant shrikes.

These are birds of warm climates. They are monogamous and nest in an unlined hole in a tree or in masonry, and lay 2–4 eggs in the tropics, 3–6 at higher latitudes. The eggs, which are white, hatch after 17–20 days, and the young remain in the nest for approximately another 30 days.