Editing Indian roller (section)

==Behaviour and ecology ==
The Indian roller is generally not very [[Sociality|gregarious]] and is usually found alone or in pairs.<ref name="Cramp1985" /> It is often [[Territory (animal)|territorial]], though migrants may forage in flocks with no aggression. They patrol their territory by flying at treetop height or three-stories high and when an intruder is spotted, they drive it away by a fast rolling flight. Its [[Bird migration|migration]] patterns are not well understood; in Oman they are present year-round but appear to be more common in winter than summer.<ref name="Fry1992" />
[[File:Indian Roller Drying feathers.jpg|thumb|right|Indian roller [[Sunning (behaviour)|sunning]]]]
The Indian roller spends a few minutes [[preening]] followed by flying around its roosting site. It favours electric or telegraph wires as perches. It has been observed perching in trees and shrubs at a height of {{convert|3-9|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} from where it flies down to forage for ground insects. It also uses higher perches in the upper canopy of trees.<ref name=Sivakumaran>{{cite journal |author1=Sivakumaran, N. |author2=Thiyagesan, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |title=Population, diurnal activity patterns and feeding ecology of the Indian Roller ''Coracias benghalensis'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |journal=Zoos' Print Journal |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=1091–1095 |doi=10.11609/jott.zpj.18.5.1091-5 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The display of the Indian roller is [[aerobatic]] with twists and turns.<ref name=pcr/> It is attracted by [[wildfires]] and darts into hot smoke in pursuit of insects.<ref name=Fry1992/> It has been observed following tractors for disturbed [[invertebrate]]s. In agricultural habitats in southern India, it has been found at densities of about 50 birds per km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name=Sivakumaran/><ref name="Mathew, DN; Narendran, TC; Zacharias, VJ 1978 1178–1197">{{cite journal |author1=Mathew, D. N. |author2=Narendran, T. C. |author3=Zacharias, V. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=1978 |title=A comparative study of the feeding habits of certain species of Indian birds affecting agriculture |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=1178–1197 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbomba751978bomb/page/1181/mode/1up}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Anatomy and evolution of the feeding apparatus in the avian orders Coraciiformes and Piciformes |author=Burton, P. K. J. |pages=331–443 |year=1984 |volume=47 |issue=6 |journal=Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology Series |doi=10.5962/p.271707 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofbritis47zoollond#page/331/mode/1up|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Nesting Indian rollers act aggressively towards potential predators. They drive away [[Indian jungle crow]]s (''Corvus culminatus'') from nests and have even been recorded repeatedly divebombing an [[Egyptian vulture]] (''Neophron percnopterus''),<ref name="Cramp1985" /> and flying at humans.<ref name="Fry1992" />

''[[Haemoproteus]] coraciae'' live inside the red-blood cells<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Bishop, M. A. |author2=Bennett, G. F.|year=1986|title=Avian Haemoproteidae. 23. The haemoproteids of the avian family Coraciidae (rollers)|journal= Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume= 64| issue=9|pages= 1860–1863| doi=10.1139/z86-277 }}</ref> and ''[[Leucocytozoon]]'' blood parasites have been recorded in the lung tissues.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=De Mello, I. F. |author2=Emidio, A. |name-list-style=amp |year=1935 |title=Blood parasites of ''Coracias b. benghalensis'' with special remarks on its two types of Leucocytozoon |journal=Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Section B |volume=2 |pages=67–73 |doi=10.1007/BF03039981 |s2cid=83234083 |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/procb/2/00000076.pdf |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-date=29 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329034644/http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/procb/2/00000076.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Parasitic [[helminth]] worms ''Hadjelia srivastavai, Cyrnea graphophasiani,''<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ilyas, R.|year=1981|title=Redescription of ''Dispharynx pavonis'' Sanwal, 1951 and ''Cyrnea graphophasiani'' Yamaguti 1935|journal=Rivista di Parassitologia |volume=42|issue=1|pages=179–183}}</ref> ''[[Habronema]] thapari''<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sanwal, K. C. |year=1951|title=On a new avian nematode, ''Habronema thapari'' n.sp. (sub-fam. Spirurinae Railliet, 1915) from the blue jay, ''Coracias benghalensis'' (Linnaeus) |journal=Indian Journal of Helminthology |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=79–86}}</ref> and ''Synhimantus spiralis'' have been recorded from the [[gizzard]]s of Indian rollers.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Junker, K. |author2=Boomker, J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=A check list of the helminths of guineafowls (Numididae) and a host list of these parasites |journal=Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research |volume=74 |pages=315–337 |pmid=18453241 |issue=4 |doi=10.4102/ojvr.v74i4.118 |doi-access=free|hdl=2263/5124 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

===Breeding===
[[File:Indian roller playing hide and seek.jpg|thumb|Indian rollers nest in hollows or crevices in buildings.|alt=An Indian roller nesting in the hollow of a tree]]The breeding season is March to June, slightly earlier in southern India,<ref name=pcr/> when adult males and females form [[pair bond]]s.<ref name=Fry1992/> During courtship, mates perform aerial displays which include steep, undulating flights, somersaults, nose-drives, hovering and lateral rolling. This is accompanied by vocalizations.<ref name=Cramp1985/> The pair then perch and display to each other with bows, dropped wings and fanned tails and may engage in [[Preening#Allopreening|allopreening]].<ref name=pcr/><ref name=Cramp1985/> The nest site is usually an existing hole in a tree, a dead palm or building but may also be a hole in a mud bank. The hole may be excavated completely in soft material such as rotten wood. A thin mat of feathers, straw or grass is placed at the bottom of the cavity.<ref name=Cramp1985/> In [[Bandhavgarh National Park]], nests have been recorded at heights of {{cvt|3|m|sigfig=1}} in ''[[Shorea robusta]]'' trees and {{cvt|7.5|m}} above the ground in ''[[Syzygium cumini]]'' trees.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Tyabji, H. N. |year=1994 |title=The birds of Bandhavgarh National Park, M.P. |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=51–77 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbomba9111994bomb/page/64/mode/1up}}</ref> 

The [[Clutch (eggs)|clutch]] consists of 3–5 eggs, which are white and oval with an average size of {{cvt|33|x|27|mm}}. The eggs are incubated mainly by the female beginning as soon as the first egg is laid and hatch asynchronously after 17 to 19 days. The young are naked when first hatched and are fed and cared for by both parents. The fledging period lasts 30 to 35 days.<ref name=Cramp1985/>

===Food and feeding===
[[File:Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis benghalensis) composite.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Indian roller eating a grasshopper]]

The Indian roller descends to the ground to capture insects and to a lesser extent amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals.<ref name=Cramp1985/><ref>{{cite book |pages=155–159 |chapter=1022. ''Coracias indica'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/foodofbirdsinind00masorich/page/155/mode/1up |title=Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India |series=Entomological Series |volume=III. The Food of Birds in India |author=Mason, C. W. |editor=Maxwell-Lefroy, H. |year=1911 |place=Pusa |publisher=Agricultural Research Institute}}</ref> It is attracted to swarms of winged [[termite]]s; as many as 40 birds have been seen to perch on a {{cvt|70|m}} stretch of electric wire to hunt them.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bharos, A. M. K. |year=1990 |title=Unusually large congregation and behaviour of Indian Rollers ''Coracias benghalensis'' |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=87 |issue=2 |page=300 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbombay871990bomb/page/300/mode/1up}}</ref> [[Beetles]] make up around 45% of its diet, followed by [[grasshopper]]s and [[Cricket (insect)|crickets]] at around 25%.<ref name=Sivakumaran/> 

The Indian roller often associates with the [[great Indian bustard]] (''Ardeotis nigriceps''), catching insects flushed out by the latter species.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rahmani, A. R. |author2=Manakadan, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1987 |title=Interspecific behaviour the Great Indian Bustard ''Ardeotis nigriceps'' (Vigors) |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=317–331 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbombay841987bomb/page/n369/mode/2up}}</ref> In [[Tamil Nadu]], it was observed to forage mainly by [[Gleaning (birds)|gleaning]] (catching prey on a surface), followed by feeding on the ground and in the air.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Asokan, S. |author2=Ali, A. M. S. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=690–694 |title=Foraging behavior of selected insectivorous birds in Cauvery Delta region of Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India |doi=10.11609/jott.o2201.690-4 |doi-access=free |year=2010}}</ref> It occasionally dives into water  to take frogs and fish, much like a [[kingfisher]].<ref name=Fry1992/><ref name=hbk/> It may make use of opportunities such as insects attracted to lights, feeding even late after dusk.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Bharos, A. M. K.|year=1992|title=Feeding by Common Nightjars ''Caprimulgus asiaticus'' and Indian Roller ''Coracias benghalensis'' in the light of mercury vapour lamps |issue=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbombay891992bomb/page/124/mode/1up |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=89|page=124}}</ref>

In March 2019, an Indian roller was observed feeding on an Indian wolf snake (''[[Lycodon aulicus]]'') in [[Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Vishnu, S.N. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Ramesh, C. |year=2021 |title=Predation on a Common Wolfsnake, ''Lycodon aulicus'' (Colubridae), by an Indian Roller, ''Coracias benghalensis'' (Coraciidae), in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India |journal=Reptiles & Amphibians |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=157–158 |doi=10.17161/randa.v28i1.15379 |url=https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15379/13887|doi-access=free }}</ref>