Indochinese roller


The Indochinese roller or Burmese roller, is a member of the roller bird family. It occurs widely from eastern India to China and southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Description

It is a stocky bird. The crown and vent are blue. The primaries are deep purplish blue with a band of pale blue. The tail is sky blue with a terminal band of Prussian blue and the central feathers are dull green. The neck and throat are purplish lilac with white shaft streaks. The bare patch around the eye is ochre in colour. The three forward toes are united at the base. Rollers have a long and compressed bill with a curved upper edge and a hooked tip. The nostril is long and exposed and there are long rictal bristles at the base of the bill. It has a purplish brown and unstreaked face and breast. It has underwing coverts in a deep shade of blue. Within the Indian region, it is seen to intergrade with the Indian roller.

Distribution and habitat

The Indochinese roller is distributed across Asia, from eastern India into Southeast Asia..