The Oriental dollarbird (''Eurystomus orientalis'') is a bird of the
roller
Roller may refer to:
Birds
*Roller, a bird of the family Coraciidae
* Roller (pigeon), a domesticated breed or variety of pigeon
Devices
* Roller (agricultural tool), a non-powered tool for flattening ground
* Road roller, a vehicle for compa ...
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
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in 1766 in the
twelfth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...
'' under the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Coracias orientalis''. Linnaeus based his description on "Le Rollier des Indes" that had been described and illustrated by the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher.
Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...
in 1760. The
type locality is the island of
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
in Indonesia. The Oriental dollarbird is now placed in the genus ''
Eurystomus
''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'' (, ‘broad, wide’) and ''stoma'' (, ‘mouth’).
''Eurystomus'' contains four broad-billed specie ...
'' that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist
Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist.
Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collecte ...
.
A
molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
study published in 2018 found that the
azure dollarbird
The azure dollarbird (''Eurystomus azureus'') also known as the azure roller, purple dollarbird or purple roller, is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is endemic to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Formerly, some authorities consider ...
(''Eurystomus azureus'') was nested in a
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
containing
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the Oriental dollarbird. Formerly, some authorities have also considered the
broad-billed roller
The broad-billed roller (''Eurystomus glaucurus'') 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 south ...
and the
azure dollarbird
The azure dollarbird (''Eurystomus azureus'') also known as the azure roller, purple dollarbird or purple roller, is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is endemic to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Formerly, some authorities consider ...
to have been subspecies of the oriental dollarbird. The generic name derives from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''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
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognized:
[
* ''E. o. cyanocollis'' - ]Vieillot
Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist.
Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collect ...
, 1819: Found from the Himalayas through China to south-eastern Siberia, Korea and Japan
* ''E. o. orientalis'' - (Linnaeus, 1766): Found from the southern Himalayas to Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
, the Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
, Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
, Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
and the Philippines
* ''E. o. laetior'' - Sharpe, 1890: Found in south-western India
* ''E. o. gigas'' - Stresemann, 1913: Found on southern Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
* ''E. o. irisi'' - Deraniyagala
Deraniyagala is a town in the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Deraniyaga city area consists major government administrative offices, textile industries and transportation hub and the district hospital which has seve ...
, 1951: Found in Sri Lanka
* ''E. o. oberholseri'' - Junge, 1936: Found on Simeulue
Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1754 square kilometres (677 square miles), including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 census ...
(off north-western Sumatra)
* Australian roller (''E. o. pacificus'') - ( Latham, 1801): Originally described as a separate species in the genus ''Coracias''. Found on the Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...
, northern and eastern Australia
* ''E. o. waigiouensis'' - Elliot, DG, 1871: Originally described as a separate species. Found on New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
, western Papuan islands, D'Entrecasteaux Islands
D'Entrecasteaux Islands () are situated near the eastern tip of New Guinea in the Solomon Sea in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The group spans a distance of , has a total land area of approximately and is separated from the Papua New G ...
and the Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea.
It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...
* ''E. o. crassirostris'' - Sclater, PL, 1869: Originally described as a separate species. Found in the Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
* ''E. o. solomonensis'' - Sharpe, 1890: Originally described as a separate species. Found in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
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.
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
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...
for insects, returning to the same perch after a few seconds.
Gallery
File:Dollarbird or Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus orientalis) at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W Picture 060.jpg, at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve
, photo = Buxa Tiger Reserve forest 2014.jpg
, iucn_category = II
, map = India West Bengal
, map_width =
, label = Buxa NP
, label_position = right
, location = West Bengal, India
, nearest_city = Alipurduar
, coordinates =
, area_km ...
in Jalpaiguri
Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...
district of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, India.
File:Dollarbird or Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus orientalis) at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W Picture 059.jpg, Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.
File:Eurystomus orientalis -Miami Metrozoo, USA -singing-8a.jpg, Singing at Miami MetroZoo
The Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, also known as Zoo Miami, is a zoo, zoological park and garden near Miami and is the largest zoo in Florida. Originally established in 1948 at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Zoo Miami relocated in 1980 as M ...
, 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
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
File:4G4A5932.jpg, Dollarbird
References
Further reading
*
External links
BirdLife Species Factsheet
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
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuar ...
's Macaulay Library
{{Taxonbar, from=Q44109
Oriental dollarbird
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 O ...
Birds of Southeast Asia
Birds of New Guinea
Birds of the Solomon Islands
Migratory birds (Eastern Hemisphere)
Oriental dollarbird
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 O ...
Articles containing video clips
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus