Animals On Earth: India, Asia, China, Hawaii, And Madagascar

Indian Roller

The Indian roller is a bulky and broad-winged bird with a large head short neck and legs. The bare skin around the eyes is dull orange, and the legs and feet are yellow-brown. The bill is tinged with brown at the base. The iris is grey-brown. The plumage on the forehead, chin and lores are pinkish buff, the ear coverts are darker red-brown with pale cream or pinkish streaks, while the throat is a dull wine-red with narrow cream streaks. The crown and nape are a darker dull turquoise. The back and rump are bright turquoise, and the belly is pale blue. The tail coverts are dark purple-blue with turquoise tips. The middle two tail feathers are greyish blue-olive with black shafts, while the surrounding tail feathers are an intense purple-blue with a broad pale blue band and greenish tinge towards the tips. The flight feathers on the wings have the same purple-blue colour of those on the tail, with a similar pale blue band across the most distal five or six primaries. The underwing coverts and axillary feathers are pale blue, while the upperwing coverts are a dull green-blue. The primary coverts are pale blue with olive or purple-blue tips, and the lesser coverts are purple-blue along the leading edge of the wing. The colours look dull when the bird is perched but become vibrant in flight. Moulting commences anywhere from mid-June to mid-August and concludes between November and the beginning of March. Adult males and females are similar in appearance and there are no seasonal changes. Juvenile birds are duller, paler and browner in color, with a dull green crown and dull green-blue belly tinged with buff. The bill is brown with a yellowish base rather than black.

Indian rollers are distributed across Asia, from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates in south-western Asia through the Indian Subcontinent, including Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep islands, and the Maldive Islands. The main habitat of these birds includes cultivated areas, thin forests, and grassland. They can also be found in parks and cities.

Indian rollers are carnivores. Their diet includes insects, spiders, scorpions, small snakes, frogs, and other amphibians.