Indian Roller

Indian Roller

Coracias benghalensis

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCNTNear ThreatenedVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at New Delhi

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

90 Verified sightings at New Delhi
10,674 In all 20 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Indian Roller

The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, with blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail. The bright blue markings on the wing are prominent in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognised.

The Indian roller occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Often found perched on roadside trees and wires, it is common in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and has adapted well to human-modified landscapes. It mainly feeds on insects, especially beetles. The species is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. Adult males and females form pair bonds and raise the young together. The female lays 3–5 eggs in a cavity or crevice, which is lined with a thin mat of straw or feathers. The roller is the state bird of three Indian states. It is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List.

The Indian roller was one of the many bird species originally described... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:12

India · 2026

© Dipendra Maharshi · XC1166791 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:09

United Arab Emirates · 2021

© David Darrell-Lambert · XC676839 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:21

United Arab Emirates · 2022

© Oscar Campbell · XC783123 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
2 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
3 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
4 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
5 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~30%
6 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
7 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
8 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
9 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
10 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
11 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
12 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
13 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
14 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
15 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
16 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%
17 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
18 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
19 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
20 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Dubai 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
~40%
2 Tiruchirappalli 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Visakhapatnam 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Durg 🇮🇳 India
~30%
5 Coimbatore 🇮🇳 India
~30%
6 Indore 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Bareilly 🇮🇳 India
~20%
8 Salem 🇮🇳 India
~20%
9 Vasai-Virar 🇮🇳 India
~20%
10 Bhopal 🇮🇳 India
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Indian Roller in New Delhi?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Roller sighting in New Delhi on a given day, based on 90 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 138th most-seen of the 248 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Indian Roller in New Delhi?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Roller in New Delhi on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see an Indian Roller?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Roller sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is New Delhi the best place to see an Indian Roller?

48th of 55

Of the 55 cities where we can rate Indian Roller sightings, New Delhi ranks 48th at under 5%. The best odds are in Dubai (United Arab Emirates, about 40%), Tiruchirappalli (India, about 30%) and Visakhapatnam (India, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Indian Roller live in New Delhi?

Same order: Coraciiformes

The closest relatives of the Indian Roller that you can see in New Delhi (order Coraciiformes, Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies) are White-throated Kingfisher (about 40%) and Asian Green Bee-eater (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Indian Roller sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Indian Roller is recorded against all the birds logged in New Delhi (90 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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