Bengal Roller

Bengal Roller

We are delighted that Dagmar Specht has taken over the sponsorship of the Bengal Roller (Coracias benghalensis).

The Bengal Roller or Hindu Roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a common and widespread species in South and Southeast Asia. It lives there in sparse deciduous forests, parks and tree-covered pastures, but also in dry savannahs.

It is about the size of a jay and very strikingly coloured. In addition to the greenish-brown colouring of the back, various, often shiny metallic and iridescent shades of blue predominate.

Like all raptors, the Bengal Roller has a series of loud, croaking and hoarse calls that can often be heard.
It is a stalking hunter that mainly feeds on larger insects, but does not disdain smaller vertebrates either. Once the Bengal vulture has spotted a potential prey animal, it drops into a gliding flight and strikes the prey on the ground. Unusual among the vulturine birds is the hunt for small fish, especially fry: from a shaking flight they swoop down to the water surface and sometimes dive completely under water.

The Bengal Roller breeds in natural caves and semi-caves, occasionally also in abandoned woodpecker holes. The female lays 3-5 pure white eggs on a simple base of feathers, blades of grass, pieces of wood and all kinds of civilisation waste. The female also does most of the brooding. The incubation period is about 19 days.