Oriental dollarbird

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Oriental dollarbird
Dollarbird Samcem Dec02.JPG
Adult
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Coraciidae
Genus: Eurystomus
Species:
E. orientalis
Binomial name
Eurystomus orientalis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Eurystomus orientalis distr.png
Distribution of the oriental dollarbird
Synonyms

Coracias orientalisLinnaeus, 1766

The Oriental dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) is a bird of the roller family, so named because of the distinctive pale blue or white, coin-shaped spots on its wings. It can be found from Australia to Korea, Japan and India.

Contents

Taxonomy

The Oriental dollarbird was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Coracias orientalis. [2] Linnaeus based his description on "Le Rollier des Indes" that had been described and illustrated by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. [3] The type locality is the island of Java in Indonesia. [4] The Oriental dollarbird is now placed in the genus Eurystomus that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. [5] [6]

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the azure dollarbird (Eurystomus azureus) was nested in a clade containing subspecies of the Oriental dollarbird. [7] Formerly, some authorities have also considered the broad-billed roller and the azure dollarbird to have been subspecies of the oriental dollarbird. The generic name derives from Ancient Greek eurustomos 'wide-mouthed' and the specific epithet is Latin orientalis 'eastern'. [8] Alternate names for the oriental dollarbird include the Asian dollarbird, dark roller, dollar roller, dollarbird, eastern broad-billed roller and oriental broad-billed roller.

Ten subspecies are recognized: [6]

Description

The oriental dollarbird has a length of up to 30 cm. It is dark brown but this is heavily washed with a bluish-green sheen on the back and wing coverts. Its belly and undertail coverts are light coloured, and it has glossy bright blue colouring on its throat and undertail. Its flight feathers are a darker blue. Its bill is short and wide and in mature animals is coloured orange-red with a black tip. It has very light blue patches on the outer parts of its wings which are highly visible in flight and for which it is named. The females are slightly duller than the males but overall the two are very similar. Immature birds are much duller than the adults and do not have the blue colouring on their throats. They also have brown bills and feet instead of the red of the adults. [9]

Distribution and habitat

The oriental dollarbird is found from Australia to Japan and India. It breeds in northern and eastern Australia between the months of September and April and winters in New Guinea and nearby islands. The birds prefer open wooded areas with hollow-bearing trees to build nests in.

Behaviour and ecology

The oriental dollarbird is most commonly seen singly 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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coraciidae</span> Family of birds

Coraciidae is a family of Old World birds, which are known as rollers because of the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian roller</span> Species of bird

The Indian roller is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, with blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail. The bright blue markings on the wing are prominent in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognised.

<i>Eurystomus</i> Genus of birds

Eurystomus is a genus of roller, one of the two genera in that family of birds. The name means ‘broad mouth’, from the Greek eurus and stoma.

<i>Coracias</i> Genus of birds

Coracias is a genus of the rollers, an Old World family of near passerine birds related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups, blues and browns predominating. The two outer front toes are connected, but not the inner one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stork-billed kingfisher</span> Species of bird

The stork-billed kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia. This kingfisher is resident throughout its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian robin</span> Species of bird

The Indian robin is a species of passarine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is widespread in the Indian subcontinent and ranges across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The males of the northern subspecies have brown backs whose extent gradually reduces southwards, with the males of the southern subspecies having all-black backs. They are commonly found in open scrub areas and often seen running along the ground or perching on low thorny shrubs and rocks. The long tail is usually held up and the chestnut undertail coverts and dark body make them easily distinguishable from pied bushchats and Oriental magpie-robins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive bee-eater</span> Species of bird

The olive bee-eater or Madagascar bee-eater is a near passerine bee-eater species in the genus Merops. It is native to the southern half of Africa where it is present in Angola; Botswana; Burundi; Comoros; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Kenya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mayotte; Mozambique; Namibia; Rwanda; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe. It is a common species with a wide range so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilac-breasted roller</span> Species of bird

The lilac-breasted roller is an African bird of the roller family, Coraciidae. It is widely distributed in Southern and Eastern Africa, and is a vagrant to the southern Arabian Peninsula. It prefers open woodland and savanna, and it is for the most part absent from treeless places. Usually found alone or in pairs, it perches at the tops of trees, poles or other high vantage points from where it can spot insects, amphibians and small birds moving about on the ground. Nesting takes place in a natural hole in a tree where a clutch of 2–4 eggs are laid, and incubated by both parents, who are extremely aggressive in defence of their nest, taking on raptors and other birds. During the breeding season the male will rise to a fair height, descending in swoops and dives, while uttering harsh, discordant cries. The sexes are different in coloration, and juveniles lack the long tail streamers of adults. This species is unofficially considered the national bird of Kenya. Alternative names for the lilac-breasted roller include the fork-tailed roller, lilac-throated roller and Mosilikatze's roller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-capped greenfinch</span> Species of bird

The grey-capped greenfinch or Oriental greenfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae that breeds in broadleaf and conifer woodlands of the East Palearctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-naped oriole</span> Species of bird

The black-naped oriole is a passerine bird in the oriole family that is found in many parts of Asia. There are several distinctive populations within the wide distribution range of this species and in the past the slender-billed oriole was included as a subspecies. Unlike the Indian golden oriole which only has a short and narrow eye-stripe, the black-naped oriole has the stripe broadening and joining at the back of the neck. Males and females are very similar although the wing lining of the female is more greenish. The bill is pink and is stouter than in the golden oriole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hair-crested drongo</span> Species of bird

The hair-crested drongo is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with Dicrurus bracteatus, for which the name "spangled drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran drongo in D. hottentottus as subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-faced munia</span> Species of bird

The black-faced munia is a species of estrildid finch found in Indonesia and East Timor. It occurs in a wide range of habitats including artificial landscapes, forest, grassland and savannah. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1766. The IUCN has evaluated the status of this bird as being of least concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-naped parrot</span> Species of bird

The blue-naped parrot, also known as the blue-crowned green parrot, Luzon parrot, the Philippine green parrot, and locally known as pikoy, is a parrot found throughout the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thick-billed green pigeon</span> Species of bird

The thick-billed green pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-winged roller</span> Species of bird

The purple-winged roller is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is endemic to the Sulawesi subregion in Indonesia and can be found on the islands of Sulawesi, Bangka, Lembeh, Manterawu, Muna and Butung.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azure dollarbird</span> Species of bird

The azure dollarbird also known as the azure roller, purple dollarbird or purple roller, is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is endemic to North Maluku in Indonesia. Formerly, some authorities considered the azure dollarbird to be a subspecies of the oriental dollarbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-throated roller</span> Species of bird

The blue-throated roller is a species of roller in the family Coraciidae. It is native to the African tropical rainforest.

E. orientalis may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-backed trogon</span> Species of bird

The green-backed trogon, also known as the Amazonian white-tailed trogon, is a bird in the trogon family Trogonidae. It is widely distributed across the Amazon rainforest with a disjunct population on the southeast coast of Brazil. As with all trogons, this species is sexually dimorphic. The male has a yellow belly without a white breastband, a blue head with a pale-blue orbital eye-ring, a blue bill, a green back and a green tail that is mostly white below. The female is duller with a dark grey head, a dark grey back and some black barring beneath the tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad-billed roller</span> Species of bird

The broad-billed roller is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial belt in the dry season.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Eurystomus orientalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22682920A92968881. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22682920A92968881.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 159.
  3. Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 2. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 75–77, Plate 7 fig. 1.
  4. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 246.
  5. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 37.
  6. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Rollers, ground rollers, kingfishers". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  7. Johansson, U.S.; Irestedt, M.; Qu, Y.; Ericson, P. G. P. (2018). "Phylogenetic relationships of rollers (Coraciidae) based on complete mitochondrial genomes and fifteen nuclear genes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 126: 17–22. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.030. PMID   29631051. S2CID   5011292.
  8. Jobling, James A. (2010). "Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird-names".
  9. Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). "Dollarbird". Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 305–308. ISBN   978-0-7136-8028-7.

Further reading