Alternative names: Eastern Broad-billed Roller; Oriental Dollarbird
- Eurystomus orientalis
Identification
27–32 cm (10½-12½ in)
Red bill with glossy dark blue-green plumage diagnostic. Appears black in poor light. Broad silvery white patch on base of primaries conspicuous only in flight(thus named Dollarbird).
Distribution
The Indian subcontinent,temperate eastern Russia, China, and Japan through South-East Asia to Australia and the Solomon Islands; northern and southern-most populations migrate to tropical latitudes during winter.
Taxonomy
Purple Roller, Eurystomus azureus was previously considered to be one additional subspecies of the Dollarbird.
Subspecies
There are eleven subspecies[1]:
- E. o. cyanocollis: Himalayas to China, Manchuria and Korea; winters to Indonesia
- E. o. laetior: southwestern India (southern Western Ghats)
- E. o. irisi: Sri Lanka
- E. o. orientalis: breeds from the southern Himalayas to the Ryukyu Islands and southeastern Asia, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, the Philippines, and Borneo; winters to southeastern India, the Philippines, Sulawesi, and Helmahera
- E. o. gigas: South Andaman Islands
- E. o. oberholseri: Simeulue Island (off Sumatra)
- E. o. connectens: South Sulawesi, Sula Islands and Lesser Sundas
- E. o. waigiouensis: New Guinea, western Papuan Island, D'Entrecasteaux and Louisiade Archaepelago
- E. o. pacificus: North and eastern Australia; winters to New Guinea, southern Moluccas, adjacent islands
- E. o. crassirostris: Bismarck Archipelago
- E. o. solomonensis: Feni Island and Solomon Islands
In 2015 there appears to have been some re-ordering of the subspecies; with abundus and latouchei being absorbed into a new subspecies E.o. cyanocollis and deignani moving into the nominate subspecies E.o. orientalis. At the same time two new subspecies, E.o. irisi and E.o. laetior were introduced.
Habitat
Mangroves, forests edges, beach scrub, plantation and open country.
Behaviour
Diet
Particularly favours tall dead trees on which it often perches for long periods. Does not drop to the ground to catch prey, preferring to catch winged insects on aerial sallies. Prey items consists of a variety of beetles, crickets and mantises.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Fry, H. & Boesman, P. (2019). Oriental Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55863 on 9 November 2019).
- Fry, C.F., Fry, K. and Harris, A. (1991). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. Princeton University Press
- Gregory, P. (2017) Birds of New Guinea, Including Bismarck Archipelago and Boughainville. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Dollarbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dollarbird
External Links
