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.

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. Linnaeus based his description on "Le Rollier des Indes" that had been described and illustrated by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The type locality is the island of Java in Indonesia. The Oriental dollarbird is now placed in the genus Eurystomus that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.

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. 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'. 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:

Distribution and habitat

The oriental dollarbird is found from Australia to Japan and India. At least some subspecies (for example E. o. pacificus) are migratory. 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.

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File:Dollarbird or Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus orientalis) at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W Picture 060.jpg|at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.

File:Dollarbird1.jpg|At Rangapur near Dhansar River, Nepal

File:Eurystomus orientalis -Miami Metrozoo, USA -singing-8a.jpg|Singing at Miami MetroZoo, USA

File:Dollarbird.jpg|Kaeng Krachan Nat'l Park - Thailand

File:Dollarbird rushck.ogg|Two Oriental dollarbirds, Rush Creek, SE Queensland, Australia

File:Dollarbird Manas National Park Assam India April 2019.jpg|A pair of birds from Manas, Assam, India.

File:4G4A5932.jpg|Dollarbird

File:Oriental Dollar Bird at Central Park, Salt Lake, Kolkata 2.jpg|Oriental Dollar Bird at Central Park, Salt Lake, Kolkata

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References

Further reading

  • BirdLife Species Factsheet
  • Photos of dollarbirds from Australian Birdlife Photo Library
  • Sound of burung Tiong Batu, Recording AV#13711. Malaysia: Sabah; Sepilok, Rainforest Discovery Centre (within 1km) (5.879, 117.946), recorded by Frank R. Lambert
  • Birds in Backyards: Dollarbird
  • Photos, audio and video of oriental dollarbird from Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library