#featheredfriday blue style

Maybe I should switch country for a change in this #featheredfriday, a great initiative by @keithboone. But Sri Lanka has such amazing birds, and since memories are still fresh... on to another Sri Lanka bird we go!

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The Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis, was the last bird I was fortunate to see in a safari in Uda Wallawe National Park; we were almost returning to the park entrance when our guide spotted him, hunting on the ground.

^{Indian roller / Rolieiro indiano (PT) - Coracias benghalensis}

Rollers got the english name thanks to the acrobatic display performed by the males during breeding season, ellaborated flight with several twists and turns (yeah, show-offs! :). They belong to the family Coraciidae, that comprises 13 species. They are Old-World, medium sized birds, with bright colours, and they are easy to identify, since not many similar birds exist.
I only saw the “european version” of this bird once, and it's similar to this species, although with a little more blue.

The Indian roller is very easy to identify: medium sized bird, reaching a little over 30cm; blue on the crown and vent, brown breast. And if you see them flying, almost impossible to mistake, with the wings with those blue tones!

They can normally be found perching, or in the ground when they are hunting. They feed mostly of invertebrates, ocasionally on small vertebrates like small reptiles and amphibians; they scout the ground from their perches and descend to the ground to capture their preys.

Have you ever seen one of these? Happy birding!

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Photos taken with Canon SX50 HS

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