Indian Roller

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The 13-inch Indian Roller is inconspicuous when resting. But as it takes flight, the sudden flash of its blue wings can be startling. The crown, lower wings and tail are turquoise to blue-green. The throat and upper breast are purple and clearly streaked with turquoise.

The back and abdomen are gray and the eyes are black. The bill is black, slender and curved. Males and females are similar in appearance.

HABITAT:

This is a bird that prefers open country with scattered trees. It may be found in farms and in cities at lower elevations but avoids heavy jungles.

RANGE:

It ranges from Iraq and Iran through Pakistan, India, Burma, southeast Asia, Tibet, and parts of China.

BEHAVIOR:

An Indian Roller typically chooses an elevated perch in an exposed site where it can watch the ground in every direction. Occasionally it jerks its tail; otherwise it sits motionless until an insect or other small animal becomes visible. It flies straight to the food source, settles on the ground to retrieve it, then returns to its perch.

DIET:

Frogs, when available, form a large proportion of the Indian Roller's diet. It also eats larger insects such as grasshoppers and crickets. Butterflies and moths may be caught in midair.

REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:

In February, the males perform ornate sexual displays as they fly upward, then roll and fall through the air while wildly flapping their wings and screaming harshly. This is how they earned the name roller.

Between March and May, four or five pure white eggs are usually laid in a hole in a tree, and the same nest cavity is often used year after year.

Both parents help care for the young. Young birds just out of the nest call incessantly, and swallow food brought to them with a loud, screaming gobble.