Fun Dollar Bird Facts For Kids

The Australian dollar bird, scientifically known as Eurystomus Orientalis, belongs to the genus Eurystomus. They belong to the Coraciidae family; They are the Old World birds known as roller birds who got their name from the aerial acrobatics some species perform during territorial flights or courtship rituals.

They are called by several names, which include the eastern board billed roller, Asian dollar bird, Oriental board billed roller, dollar roller, and dark roller. They got their name in early 1800, from the wingspan that rembles the dollar shape of ancient currency. The distinct colors of flight feathers in the bird's wings elevate their silhouette further.

If you enjoy this article, check out our fact articles on the yellow warbler and the secretary bird.

Dollar Bird Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Dollar Bird?

The dollar bird of the genus Eurystomus is a bird. It is a roller bird of the Coraciidae family.

What class of animal does a Dollar Bird belong to?

The Eurystomus Orientalis is an avian, and it belongs to the class Aves.

How many Dollar Birds are there in the world?

Due to the vast Oriental dollar bird range map, their population is evenly distributed. Therefore, though the exact count is not evaluated, it is estimated that their population is in large numbers.

Where does a Dollar Bird live?

Dollar birds live in woodlands and tropical forest habitats. In Asian countries, they are found in Korea, Japan, eastern China, and Southeast Asia. They fly to northern and eastern Australia during the breeding season and spend their winters in New Guinea.

What is a Dollar Bird's habitat?

The Australian dollar birds inhabit open wooded areas. They perch on trees waiting for their prey, and during breeding, they prefer tree hollows vacated by woodpeckers to nest.

Who does Dollar Bird live with?

The Australian dollar birds usually live on their own. However, during coupling and nesting, they live as a pair. While migrating, they fly as a group of around 50 birds.

How long does a Dollar Bird live?

As per research conducted, the dollar bird (Eurystomus orientalis) lives for nearly six years in the wild.

How do they reproduce?

The dollar bird's (Eurystomus Orientalis) breeding season is between September and April. They usually migrate to northern and eastern Australia during this time.

The breeding couple is seen flying in characteristic rolling flights during the evening, followed by cackling calls. Post coupling, the eggs are laid in an unaligned tree hollow. The nest is usually placed 30 to 90 ft above the ground.

The female lays two to three eggs, and both the parents take care of incubating the eggs. The incubation period might last for 18 to 23 days. After hatching, both parents also groom the nestlings.

The Dollarbirds might return to the same nest for many years. Australian dollar bids are territorial about their nests and defend them aggressively.

What is their conservation status?

The Oriental dollar bird's conservation status is listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Dollar Bird Fun Facts

What does the Dollar Bird look like?

The dollar bird (eurystomus orientalis) looks like any bird of the Coraciidae family. As such, the Eurystomus have long wings and petite legs. Originally green on the back, its body is covered with a blue-green gloss on its back and wing covers.

Their throat and under tail have a bright blue gloss. The belly is light green, and the breast is brown. The outer parts of the wings have pale blue patches.

The orange-red bill is broad and short, and the tip is black. The flight feathers are dark blue. The pale blue-shaped patches on the outer parts of the wings are eminently visible in flight.

The male birds are slightly more charming colored than duller female birds. However, the young birds are much duller than the adults. The blue and orange coloring is absent near the throat and beak in hatchlings.

How cute are they?

The dollar bird is an appealingly colorful roller. Undoubtedly, due to its white coin-shaped wings, it is a visual delight to see the bird flying in the sky. Its cute orange-red beak highlights the eyes and crown of the bird, and a bright blue throat elevates the bill.

The wings look elegant with jade green and blue, and the back plumage is green-brown. All in all, each part of the bird's anatomy is a merger of colors. Blend in each part compliments the other.

How do they communicate?

Oriental dollar bird communicates through vocal calls. It produces loud, harsh calls like 'keck.' While coupling the nesting pair, swings in the air in an erratic fashion. They exhibit their astonishing plumage while protecting their nest and attacking invaders with rolling dives.

How big is a Dollar Bird?

The Oriental dollar bird is a medium-sized roller. Its length is approximately 10.6 in (27 cm) and could reach a maximum of 12.6 in (30 cm). Its weight could be at most 0.47 lb (213 g). All the birds of the Crociidae family almost have the same parameters of length and weight.

How fast can a Dollar Bird fly?

Being a medium-sized bird with a wingspan of 15 to 16 in (38 to 41 cm), the roller birds can fly at 30-40 mph (48-64 kph).

How much does a Dollar Bird weigh?

An Oriental dollar bird would be in the range of 0.24 to 0.47 lbs (110 to 213 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names for the dollar bird.

What would you call a baby Dollar Bird?

The baby dollar bird does not have a specific name. As such, a newborn bird is called a hatchling, nestling, chick, or juvenile.

What do they eat?

The dollar bird mostly preys on flying insects. Unlike other rollers of the Coraciidae family, Eurystomus Orientalis catch their prey in flight. It perches on a tree to track its prey, and when prey is nearing, it immediately flies into the air and snatches it with its bill. Sometimes these roller birds also eat lizards on the ground.

Are they poisonous?

Most avians are not toxic or poisonous by birth. It so happens that the birds obtain toxic qualities from their prey. Most of the time, birds that feed on poisonous insects, animals, or plants tend to absorb the toxins from their diet. There is no established data against the Eurystomus Orientalis being poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

These are wild birds and it would be unfair to deprive them of their habitat and restrict them to a cage. So, no, they wouldn't make a good pet.

Did you know...

The dollar bird (Eurystomus Orientalis) flies as high as 500 feet.

The blue-green plumage covers the birds' mostly dark brown upperparts.

A pair of rollers is called a swoop, and a group is collectively known as a flight.

They track their prey from a perch and capture the prey skillfully with their talons.

Where do Dollar birds come from?

The dollar bird (Eurystomus Orientalis) is purely Australian in ancestry. It was established in the early 1800s when the Spanish silver dollar and holey dollar were authorized in New South Wales.

At that period, when there was no technology or binoculars to have a closer look at the bird, the natives who observed the flight of the bird associated it with the silver dollar coins and named it so.

The white patches on the dollar bird's underwings, which are not that completely round, lead to fantasizing about the dollar shape, which was then famous. Hence the bird got its name.

Are they predators?

Yes, this oriental dollar bird is a predator, and it preys or forages mostly for insects in flight.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including tufted titmouse facts and hyacinth macaw facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable dollar bird coloring pages.