The European roller is a magnificent turquoise and chestnut bird that once bred in Britain and now occurs as a rare vagrant, with its welfare in continental Europe threatened by the same agricultural intensification driving decline across the board.
Roller welfare is threatened by the loss of traditional extensive farming systems that maintain the diverse invertebrate communities on which they depend. Insecticide use eliminates large beetles and grasshoppers that form core prey. Loss of old orchard trees and veteran woodland eliminates natural nest cavities. The species welfare in Europe depends on the survival of agri-environment schemes that support traditional low-intensity farming across the Mediterranean and central European range.