Indian Roller

The Indian roller is a bulky, broad-winged bird with a large head and a short neck and legs. Perched, it can look quite dull: the face and throat are pinkish with fine cream streaks, the head and back brownish, the crown dull turquoise. In flight it is transformed, flashing bands of light and dark blue across the wings and tail. These blues are structural colours, produced by tiny structures in the feather barbs that scatter light. Males and females look alike, and juveniles are duller and browner (Wikipedia, general species account).

The roller is a sit-and-wait hunter, watching from roadside trees and wires and dropping to the ground for insects, especially beetles. It has adapted well to farmland and other man-made landscapes. It takes its name from the males' aerobatic breeding display, in which they climb, tumble and roll through the air with harsh calls. Pairs raise their young together, and the female lays 3–5 eggs in a tree cavity or crevice lined with straw or feathers. At a distance it can be confused with the migrant European roller, which has an all-blue head and black flight feathers (Wikipedia, general species account).