A flash of blue, a splash of orange, and a beautiful roll in the air — describe this exquisite bird best. The Indian Roller is the state bird of many states in our country, including Karnataka, where I live. The reason, beyond a doubt, is the bird’s beauty. The Roller rolls in the air in a flash of blue and ochre, moving from the place it’s sitting on to the next. It may be trying to catch insects in the air and making a meal of them, giving them a flash of its beauty before they get caught and disappear down its throat. One wonders whether this bird was considered for our National bird, the title that the Peacock has won.
The first time I caught sight of this beautiful bird was at Bidrekere, a lake on Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru. I’m told that the lake’s name comes from the clumps of Bamboo plants growing all along the lake boundary. As we walked down a dusty and winding path around the lake, we were treated to the sight of some very interesting birds. The best of them was a beautiful bird sitting atop a tree. It sat there for quite some time, unlike other Rollers that go about their day busily. After giving us an eye-full, it flew from its perch to another —presenting us with the best sight of the day, closely contested by an equally cooperative and beautiful Coppersmith beating an unseen piece of metal in its throat. I was told that the Coppersmith, thanks to its red and yellow throat — the colours of Karnataka’s flag — could ideally have been the State bird of Karnataka.
Our morning began with the sighting of Bush Chats along the stone pillars erected to represent the boundary of the lake. We saw many other birds on these pillars — including Bulbuls, Drongos, Kingfishers, Magpie Robins, Doves, and Shrikes. As we moved closer to the lake, we saw Egrets, Herons, Ducks, Swallows, Waterhens, Cormorants, Darters, Jacanas, and Lapwings. Interesting insects also kept us company when we were looking at the birds. Dragonflies, Spittle Bugs, Blister Beetles, and various types of butterflies kept our interest going as the temperature rose.
Later at home, I read about the Roller on Wikipedia and discovered many interesting facts. I found, to my surprise, that the bird is called ‘Neelkanth’ in Hindi, an indication of its throat being coloured blue, which is clearly not the case. It made me wonder why it is called so and read that it was because Lord Shiva is supposed have a blue throat, as a result of drinking poison.
The next time I saw the Roller was while we were driving down the highway from Hassan to Bengaluru. I kept count; we had seen 21 by the time we reached. These highway Rollers seemed to behave a little differently than their lake-side cousins. They seemed to be quite busy, flying from one place to another on the wires. I saw one of them land clearly on the wire — its wings had multiple shades of blue that glowed in the sun. It was a sight that I will always remember!
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