Indochinese roller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Indochinese roller |
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Coracias
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affinis
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The Indochinese roller (Coracias affinis), also known as the Burmese roller, is a colorful bird. It belongs to the roller bird family. You can find this bird in many places, from Nepal and eastern India to Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia. The IUCN Red List says it is a species of Least Concern, meaning it is not currently endangered.
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About the Indochinese Roller
How the Indochinese Roller Got Its Name
The Indochinese roller was first described in 1840 by an American scientist named Thomas Horsfield. He gave it the scientific name Coracias affinis. This name came from birds collected in Assam by another scientist, John McClelland.
The word affinis comes from Latin. It means "related" or "allied". Even though McClelland collected the birds, Horsfield is officially credited for naming the species. This is according to the special rules for naming animals.
For a while, people thought the Indochinese roller was just a type of Indian roller. This was because they shared a small area in northeast India. But in 2018, a study looked at the birds' DNA. It showed that the Indochinese roller is actually more closely related to the purple-winged roller (Coracias temminckii). The Indochinese roller is a unique species, meaning it has no different types or subspecies.
The phylogenetic relationships among the Coracias species are shown below, from the molecular study by Johansson et al. (2018)
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What the Indochinese Roller Looks Like
The Indochinese roller is a sturdy bird. Its head and belly are a bright blue color. Its main wing feathers are a deep purplish-blue with a light blue band. The tail is sky blue with a dark blue tip, and the middle feathers are a dull green.
Its neck and throat are purplish-lilac with thin white stripes. The skin around its eyes is a yellowish-brown. The bird's front three toes are joined at the bottom. Rollers have a long, narrow beak that curves on top and has a hooked tip. Their nostrils are long and open, and they have long bristles at the base of their beak. Their face and chest are purplish-brown and do not have stripes. The feathers under their wings are a deep blue.
Where Indochinese Rollers Live
The Indochinese roller lives across Asia. You can find them from eastern India all the way into Southeast Asia.
