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Indian Roller - BirdForum Opus

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Subspecies C. b. benghalensis
Photo © by Mike Barth
Dubai, UAE, August 2010
Coracias benghalensis

Identification

30-34cm (11¾-13¼)

  • Brown back
  • Lilac breast and face
  • Blue crown, wings, tail and belly
  • Outer tail feathers are divided into three parts, purplish blue near tip and near rump separated by bright greenish-blue

Sexes are similar
Juvenile is a drabber version of the adult.

Similar species

Indochinese Roller is darker with more purplish-blue on throat and folded wing, but lacking the band near the tip of outer tail feathers.

Distribution

Juvenile, nominate subspecies
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Gurgaon Rural, Haryana, India, 13 August 2015
Subspecies benghalensis
Photo © by Dave 2x
Wamm Farms, UAE, December 2016

Middle East and Asia:
Middle East: Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran
Asia: Afghanistan,
South Asia: Pakistan, India, Eastern Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized[1]:

  • C. b. benghalensis:
  • C. b. indicus:

Indochinese Roller was recently split from Indian Roller.

Habitat

Open country, pasture and stubble, plantations and palm groves.

Behaviour

Diet

Diet includes large insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets and earwigs, beetles, moths and wasps; also smaller reptiles like lizards and frogs.

Vocalisation

Indian Roller, perched on top of hay pile was giving alarm calls; another Indian Roller and one Europen Roller were present nearby; song of Pied Bushchat, and calls of Asian Green Bee-eater, Delicate Prinia and Rufous Treepie, are also heard in the background, in this recording.


Recording by Alok Tewari
Village Mankrola, Gurugram, Haryana, India; 26 September 2023

Breeding

Subspecies indicus
Photo © by S K Gudi
Hubli, Karnataka, India, 20 December 2017

They nest in a lined hole in a tree or building, and lays about 3-5 eggs.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. TrekNature
  3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2015)

Recommended Citation

External Links


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