Today we are familiarizing the bird belonging to the Coracidae family, Oriental dollarbird. In ‘Malayalam’ the bird is called ‘Kattu Panam Kakka’. Scientific name is Eurystomus orientalis.
Dollar bird is distributed in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Korea, Japan, Philippines, and Australia. Of the 10 subspecies recorded, Eurystomus orientalis laetior occurs in SW India, including Kerala.
Dollar birds occur in Semi-evergreen forests and moist deciduous forests in Kerala. The bird is about 27-32 cm long and weighs about 109-175 g. The bird’s head and face are black in colour. The bird’s outer surface is shining black with a bluish tinge and the underside is bluish-grey. The bird’s neck and throat are bluish-red coloured. In flight has a characteristic white circle, or ‘dollar’, on each underwing. Bill is deep and very broad at the base, hook-tipped and powerful, scarlet; orbital ring and legs dark red. Sexes alike. Immature has upper parts duller and darker, underparts slaty-blue, and wing patch less brilliant blue and less well defined. Juvenile bird has brown bill.
Frequently perches on the tops of tall dead trees. Dollar bird 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. Large, hard insects are taken in flight, which include: cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, and moths. Typically rather silent. The commonest call is a repeated short, hoarse, rasping “rak” or “chak.
Breeding season is March- May. Nest is an unlined hole 8-20 m up in dead or living trees, usually an old woodpecker or barbet hole. Clutches of 3-5 eggs; incubation period is about 23 days.
IUCN conservation status is ‘Least Concerned’.
Негізгі бет Oriental dollarbird | കാട്ടുപനങ്കാക്ക | Eurystomus orientalis | Birding | Wild Birds | Kerala
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