Expansion in the selection of breeding sites by the European Roller (Coracias garrulus) in the Caserta area

Abstract

The Caserta population (Campania-Southern Italy) of the European Roller Coracias garrulus has been monitored since 2012, remaining relatively stable in numbers. From that year until 2023, it chose the ruins of the Opera Nazionale Combattenti (ONC) as breeding sites, highlighting the need to often change the breeding site due to mainly anthropogenic pressures. In 2021, in collaboration with TERNA S.p.a., 30 wooden nest boxes were installed, which were ignored by the species until 2023. In 2024, two of them were occupied, and in the same year, two pairs chose a breeding site different from the ONC ruins, occupying cavities in the electric pylons, and one inspected a third concrete nest box installed by the authors near one of the historically occupied ruins. This expansion in the choice of breeding sites raises hope for an increase in the Caserta population.