The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a colorful bird best known for its aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is often seen perched along roadside trees and wires and is commonly seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats. The largest population occurs in India, and several states in India have chosen it as their state bird.
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 colour, 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 generally solitary birds that are often seen singly or in pairs perched on prominent bare trees or wires. After waking up, they spend a few minutes preening followed by flying around their roosting sites. They are often territorial, though migrants may forage in flocks with no aggression. They patrol their territory by flying at treetop height or three-stories high and when an intruder is spotted, they drive it away by a fast rolling flight. Indian rollers favour electric or telegraph wires as perches. They may perch in trees and shrubs at a height of 3-9 m (10-30 ft) from where they fly down to forage for ground insects. They also use higher perches in the upper canopy of trees. During summer, Indian rollers may feed late in the evening make use of artificial lights, and feed on insects attracted to them. These birds communicate with each other using a harsh crow-like 'chack' sound. They also make a variety of other sounds, including metallic 'boink' calls, and are especially vociferous during the breeding season.
Indian rollers are carnivores. Their diet includes insects, spiders, scorpions, small snakes, frogs, and other amphibians.
The mating system in Indian rollers is unknown; however, generally, rollers are monogamous and have only one partner. During the breeding season, males attract females with an aerobatic display which includes twists and turns that give these birds their English name of "rollers". They breed from March to June, slightly earlier in southern India. When the birds are perched they perform bill-up displays, bowing, allopreening, wing drooping, and tail fanning. Indian rollers nest in cavities made by tearing open rotten tree trunks or cavities in the building. In some areas, they favor nesting in holes created by woodpeckers or wood-boring insects in palms. The cavity is usually unlined and is made up mainly of debris from the wood. The female normally lays about 3-5 eggs. The eggs are white and broad oval or nearly spherical. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 17 to 19 days. The chicks usually fledge and leave the nest after about a month after hatching.
Indian rollers don't face any major threats at present. However, due to their habit of feeding near roadsides sometimes results in collisions with traffic. A decline in the numbers of these birds seen along roadsides in northern India has been noted.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Indian roller total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are increasing.
