We are reporting here the sighting of European Roller Coracias garrulus at Thirunelly, Wayanad district, Kerala.

Thirunelly (11.89° N, 76.02°E) is situated on the western slope of Brahmagiri hills, Wayanad district, Kerala, north of Palghat gap in the Western Ghats. The locality consists of undulating hills with evergreen forest, semi evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, paddy fields and plantations of eucalyptus and Melia dubia.

On 3 November 2018, at 10.00 AM we were bird watching in a hilly area which was a eucalyptus plantation and now planted with Melia dubia about one year ago. Here we saw a bird with sky-blue body and brownish back, flying with shallow wing beats. We immediately identified it as a roller based on our familiarity with the common Indian Roller Coracius benghalensis. It then perched on a Cassia siamea for long time. On looking through the binoculars we could see that the bird had a damaged bill and it appeared that the bird may not be able to feed normally. Another individual of the same species was sighted at the same time few meters away from the first one; the second bird had a normal bill. The birds were identified as European Roller by referring Grimmett et al. (2011) and Ali & Ripley (2001).

European Roller Coracias garrulus has turquoise-blue head and underparts, and rufous-cinnamon mantle and tertials. Primaries and secondaries are black, and the tail has black corners (Grimmett et al., 2011). It belongs to the family Coraciidae (Order: Coraciformes). According to del Hoyo et al. (2001) two sub-species are recognized, the nominate and C. g. semenowi; the latter breeds in Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, south Kazakhstan and northwest China and Kashmir in India. Blanford (1895) states that it breeds commonly in Kashmir and Ali & Ripley (2001) have given an account on its breeding grounds and habits. It winters in Africa (del Hoyo et al., 2001). However, Ali & Ripley (2001) state that C. g. semenowi winters mainly in Arabia and most probably in Africa.

European roller is a passage migrant in north-western India (Blanford, 1895; Grimmet et al., 2000) and it passes through Rajasthan, north and north-west Gujarat during mid-August-October (Ali & Ripley, 2001). The southern range figures only on the outward migration towards its wintering quarters (Bates & Lowther, 1991).

The first known record of this species from Kerala was on 29 September 2002 (Narayanan et al., 2008). Subsequent to this sighting a lone European Roller was spotted on 28th November 2002 at Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary (Idukki District), which is situated in the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats and is the first record from the high-ranges of Kerala. Since there is no published record from the district of Wayanad, our record thus extends the occurrence of the species in the north-eastern limit of Kerala. This is the first known record for the district and could be the second record from the Kerala Western Ghats.

References

1. Ali, S & Ripley, S. D. (2001). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan, together with those of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Vol IV, Frogmouths to Pittas. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
2. Bates, R. S. P. & Lowther, E. H. N. (1991). Breeding birds of Kashmir. Reprint ed. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
3. Blanford, W. T. (1895). The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds). Vol III. London; Culcutta; Bombay; Berlin; Taylor and Francis; Thacker, Spink, & Co.; Thacker & Co.; R. Friedländer & Sohn.
4. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (2001). Handbook of the world. Vol 6: Mousebirds to Hornbills. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.
5. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. (2011). The birds of Indian subcontinent; second edition. Oxford University Press. New Delhi
6. Narayanan, S. P., Sajith, K. M., Pillai, A. P., Narendran, M. M & Sreekumar, B. (2008). Records of European Roller Coracias garrulus from southern Peninsular India, including the first sighting from Kerala. Indian Birds, 4 (1): 2-5