The European roller, whose plumage is not green at all but blue, greenish-blue with a cinnamon-orange back and black flight feathers, is by no means related to the hooded crow, the jackdaw, or other members of the crow family belonging to the passerine order. The European roller belongs to the order Coraciiformes, which makes it a relative of the common kingfisher and the European bee-eater. In earlier times, the bird was known in Latvia as both the blue crow and even the Kurzeme parrot.

The family life of the European roller near Riga is interspersed with highway noise and constant rustling, the roar of quad bikes, and echoes from shooting ranges. It turns out that the European roller is not a forest bird at all, but rather prefers a mosaic landscape. It enjoys sitting on power lines or individual trees in open fields, as this allows it to easily monitor its 'buffet' or hunting territory—a place to find food, only to then dive down to snatch a grasshopper on the ground or a May bug in flight. Consequently, the bird chooses to nest in sparse woodlands where the trees do not grow densely together, but are spaced out in clusters with hollow trees or suitable nesting boxes.

On the distribution of the European roller