Report a ringed European Roller

European Rollers ringed by this project carry a dark blue plastic ring printed with a short white code. The code identifies the individual bird, so one reading tells us where that bird has been and how long it has survived. Reporting one takes about two minutes.

Rollers perch conspicuously on wires, fences and branches, which makes them one of the easier ringed birds to read. Patience is what it takes: wait for the bird to turn or sit up, or photograph it from several angles.

What to look for

The bird’s left leg carries a dark blue ring printed in white with a number, a letter and an asterisk. The right leg carries a plain metal ring.

The blue ring goes on the left leg and the metal ring on the right. Rollers ringed in Europe carry other colours and different codes, so please record what you actually saw rather than what this diagram shows.

Reading the code

The code is always one number, then one letter, then an asterisk: 6A*, 3F*, 2K*. The asterisk is not part of the code. It marks the end, so that when the bird turns you know where the code begins.

Only fifty rings exist, so the characters are drawn from a deliberately small set. The number is 1 to 9, never 0. The letter is one of A, C, F, H, J or K. If you read anything outside those, look again. Fifty rings are in circulation, running in six blocks:

You only need two characters. The first is always a number and the second is always a letter, so a zero can never be mistaken for the letter O, or a one for the letter I. Read the number, read the letter, and check that the asterisk sits after them.
If you could only read one character, report that one. The form lets you mark the other as unread. With only fifty rings out there, half a code narrows the bird to a handful of individuals, and the date and place often settle the rest. A guessed character does not help, because it will match a different bird that really exists.
Report the bird even if you read nothing at all. A ringed roller seen alive at a known place and date is a record we can use, whether or not the code came out. Choose “I could not read it” for both characters and send it anyway.
Note which leg the ring was on. That means the bird’s own left and right: if the bird is facing away from you, its left leg is on your left.
Photograph it if you can, and upload every frame that shows the ring, including the blurred ones. Several poor images from different angles often give us the code where one sharp image of the wrong face does not.

Found a ringed roller dead or injured? Report it here and tell us what happened. Please leave the rings on the bird and wait to hear from us. If you have found a bird with a metal ring only, and no coloured ring, report the number to SAFRING. For anything else, email jessica.wilmot@birdlife.org.za.

Report your sighting

If more than one ringed roller was present, please complete the form once for each.

Use this form to report a European Roller carrying a blue engraved ring. The code on the ring identifies the individual bird, so even a partial reading is useful.

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This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Before you start

European Rollers ringed by this project carry a blue plastic ring with a code engraved on it, on the bird's left leg, and a metal ring on the right leg. The engraved code is what identifies the bird, so concentrate on reading that.

Engraved rings are read by waiting for the bird to turn, or by photographing it from several angles. Please do not guess at characters you could not see.

European Rollers lack the long outer tail streamers of Lilac-breasted Roller and are present in South Africa mainly from November to March.

What was the condition of the bird?(Required)

Please tell us what happened, and where the bird or ring is now

For example: collided with a vehicle, found under a power line, taken to a rehabilitation centre. Please do not remove or discard the rings. We will reply with what to do next.

The blue ring

The code is always one number, then one letter, then an asterisk, printed in white on a dark blue ring, for example 6A*. The asterisk is not part of the code: it marks the end, so you know where the code starts when the bird turns.

The number is always 1 to 9, never 0, and the letter is always one of A, C, F, H, J or K. Nothing else appears on our rings, so if you read something outside that list.

If you could only make out one of the two characters, report that one and leave the other as could not read it. Half a code still narrows the bird down to a handful of individuals. If you could not read either character, send the report anyway: a ringed roller seen alive at a known place and date is still useful to us.

What colour was the coded ring?(Required)

Our birds carry blue. Rollers ringed in Europe carry other colours, and those sightings are just as valuable to us.

The number (first character)(Required)

The number is always between 1 and 9. There is no zero on any of our rings.

The letter (second character)(Required)

Only six letters are used: A, C, F, H, J and K. If the letter looked like something else, choose the closest of these six and tell us in the notes below.

Where was the asterisk?(Required)

The asterisk marks the end of the code. Telling us where you saw it lets us check you read the two characters the right way round.

Which leg was the coded ring on?(Required)

The bird's own left and right. If it is facing away from you, its left leg is on your left.

Was there a metal ring, and on which leg?(Required)

Metal ring number, if you read any of it

Usually only readable on a bird in the hand, or found dead, or a good quality photograph.

How did you read the code?(Required)

How confident are you in the code?(Required)

Certain: I read every character clearly, or I have a clear photograph

Fairly confident, but one or more characters were awkward

Not certain: distance, heat haze, poor light or a brief view

An honest 'not certain' is far more useful to us than a confident guess.

Notes on the ring

Anything that does not fit above: a character you were torn between, whether the ring looked faded, scratched or worn, or whether the code seemed to be printed more than once around the ring.

Where and when

Date of sighting(Required)

Time of sighting (24 hour, e.g. 07:45)

Farm, reserve or place name(Required)

Nearest town(Required)

Province or country(Required)

Latitude (decimal degrees)(Required)

Please enter a number from -90 to 90.

Southern latitudes are negative. In Google Maps, press and hold on the spot and copy the numbers shown.

Longitude (decimal degrees)(Required)

Please enter a number from -180 to 180.

What was the bird perched on or using?

Surrounding habitat

How many rollers were present in total?

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 1.

Including unringed birds. If more than one carried a ring, submit a separate report for each.

Photographs

Drop files here or

Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, heic, heif, gif, tif, tiff, Max. file size: 15 MB, Max. files: 8.

Please upload every frame showing the ring, even blurred ones. Several poor images of the ring at different angles often give us the full code where one image cannot. Please do not crop or resize them.

Anything else about the sighting

Behaviour, whether you have seen this bird before at the same spot, or anything unusual.

About you

We need your contact details so we can send you the bird's ringing history and follow up if anything is unclear.

Your name(Required)

Your email address(Required)

Your phone number (optional)

Organisation, farm or bird club (optional)

Permission to use this record(Required)

I agree that BirdLife South Africa may store these details and use this sighting for conservation research, and may share the sighting record with SAFRING, the ringer who marked the bird and other partner schemes. See our privacy policy.

Keep in touch

Please email me occasional updates about the European Roller Monitoring Project.

What to look for

Reading the code

Report your sighting