European Roller, coracias garrulous, also known as Kashmir Roller (since some of its population breeds in Kashmir), a non-passerine bird, belonging to the family coraciidae was spotted at Kathakottai, near Mulanur, east of Dharapuram town in Tirupur recently.
According to Sarayu Ramakrishnan, who spotted and photographed the bird, said European Roller is a passage migrant found in Pakistan and Indian states like Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
It breeds in Iraq. The roller spotted near Dharapuram looked different than the more common Indian Roller.
“I then photographed and confirmed it as European Roller,” she said.
European Roller has turquoise-blue head and under parts, rufous-cinnamon mantle and long primary projection.
It also has black flight feathers. Open woodland and cultivation are their habitats.
They forage in agricultural as well as fallow lands.
There are a few records of the bird being spotted in Maharastra, Goa, Karnataka, undivided Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and recently in Puducherry. Ms. Sarayu Ramakrishnan claimed that the same was referred to and was confirmed by experts from Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History.
The bird faced threat due to hunting while on migration in and around the Mediterranean and was hunted for meat in Oman.
Loss of tree cover denied the potential nest sites and perches for the birds to hunt and increasing use of insecticides resulted in prey base for the bird coming down.
The bird was classified as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
