Eurystomus orientalis
TAXONOMY
Coracias orientalis by Linnaeus, 1766, Java. Ten subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Red-billed roller, eastern broad-billed roller; French: Rolle oriental; German: Dollarvogel; Spanish: Carraca Oriental.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
10.2 in (26 cm); 0.3–0.35 lb (115–160 g). The white dollar-like circles on outspread wings are diagnostic.
DISTRIBUTION
E. o. orientalis: breeds northwestern India to Indochina, Philippines, and Greater Sunda Islands; winters south and east to Sulawesi and Moluccas. E. o. calonyx: breeds northern India to eastern China, southeastern Russia, and Japan; winters south to southern Asia and Greater Sunda Islands. E. o. laetior: southwestern India. E. o. irisi: Sri Lanka. E. o. gigas: Southern Andaman Islands. E. o. oberholseri: Simeulue Island, off Sumatra. E. o. waigiouensis: New Guinea and adjacent islands. E. o. crassirostris: Bismarck archipelago. E. o. solomonensis: Solomon Islands. E. o. pacificus: Breeds northern and eastern Australia and Lesser Sunda Islands; winters New Guinea and Indonesian archipelago.
HABITAT
Woodlands, forest margins, savanna, farmland, urban parks, or gardens up to 4,900 ft (1,500 m); favors denser woodland where coexisting with Coracias.
BEHAVIOR
Migrant at higher latitudes, resident in tropics. Noisy, conspicuous in high, wheeling flight or perched atop a high tree. Occurs as pairs or family parties when breeding, and as flocks when migrating or at swarms of flying insects.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Large insects are captured in flight and crushed in the bill before swallowed.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous; breeds during summer. Pair vigorously defends nesting territory. Loud calling and aerobatics in courtship. Three or four eggs laid in high tree hollow; incubation 22–23 days; both parents feed chicks. Departs to wintering areas soon after chicks fledge.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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