Dollarbird

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Dollarbird
Adult
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Coraciiformes Family: Coraciidae Genus: Eurystomus Species: E. orientalis
Binomial name
Eurystomus orientalis Linnaeus, 1766

The Dollarbird, Eurystomus orientalis also known as the Dollar Roller is a bird of the roller family, so named because of the distinctive blue dollar shaped spots on its wings.

It has a length of up to 30cm, and can be found in east Asia, from northern Australia to the Japan archipelago. The bird is an insectivore with a love of beetles and often catches prey whilst flying. The young birds have a darker beak which becomes more orange as it becomes mature.

It is most commonly seen as a single bird with a distinctive upright silhouette on a bare branch high in a tree, from which it hawks for insects, returning to the same perch after a few seconds.

Rush Creek, SE Queensland, Australia

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Eurystomus orientalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

[edit] External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Photos of Dollarbirds

[edit] Gallery

at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.

at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.

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