Eurystomus

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Eurystomus

 

a genus of birds of the family Coraciidae, order Coraciiformes. The beak is short, very broad at the base, and slightly humped at the top. The legs are short. The plumage is thick and stiff, mostly muddy green, dark blue, or violet. Of the three species, two are found in tropical Africa and Madagascar, and one in South and East Asia, New Guinea, and Australia.

In the USSR there is one species, the oriental roller or dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis), which is found in the southern part of Khabarovsk Krai and in Primor’e Krai. The body measures approximately 30 cm in length. The plumage is blackish green, with dark blue wings and tail and a light spot on the wings that is clearly visible when the bird is in flight. The beak and feet are red. The oriental roller, a migratory bird, lives in tall deciduous forests with glades, especially in floodplains. It nests in hollows high above the ground. There are four to six white eggs per clutch. The young are naked and blind when they hatch, as are all young of the order Coraciiformes. The birds feed on insects, which they catch by flying about the trees in flocks, especially at dusk, or by lying in wait for them while sitting on a dry branch or on a treetop. More rarely they hunt for food on trees or on the ground. Sometimes the birds can be pests by catching bees near apiaries.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.