
Photo: JohnG Sydney · CC BY 4.0
Eurystomus orientalis
Rare visitor: recorded only occasionally in this country
Oriental Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) is a stocky dark roller with a broad red bill and a conspicuous pale blue, coin-shaped patch in each wing visible during flight. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).
It hunts large flying insects from prominent perches above forest edges and open country and nests in tree cavities across a broad range from South Asia to Japan and Australia. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).