Azure Roller
Eurystomus azureus
A large, heavy-billed dark purple bird with a conspicuous orange bill and feet. Bold pale wing markings visible in flight. Juvenile is sooty-colored with a dark, pale-based bill and smaller wing patches. Singles or pairs perch high within clearings and gaps in forested lowlands and low hills, often utilizing emergent dead branches. Distinguished from Dollarbird by its uniform dark coloration, lacking green iridescence, and its brighter, more contrasting orange bill and feet. Call is a harsh, grating “geek,” given singly or in a rapid combination that descends into a chuckle.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Eurystomus azureus
- Authority
- Gray, GR, 1861
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Coraciidae
- Genus
- Eurystomus
Range and habitat
The azure dollarbird's natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and plantations. It is negatively affected by habitat loss. For some time, it was assumed to be decreasing in numbers quite rapidly and it was uplisted to Vulnerable in the 2000 IUCN Red List. However, more recently it was determined to be—although still declining—more common than previously believed and thus it has now been downlisted to Near Threatened in 2007.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Wine-throated Hummingbird
Selasphorus ellioti
Tiny (bumblebee-sized) hummingbird of humid forest in the mountains of Chiapas and south to Honduras. Favors shrubby clearings and edges in evergreen forests, including banks of flowers where other hummingbirds gather. Very inconspicuous, but males sometimes sing persistently from exposed perches. Male has expansive, magenta-pink gorget, rather short tail with rusty base and white corners on the tail tips. Female has dark-spotted throat and the same tail pattern as male. Very similar Bumblebee Hummingbird does not overlap in range.
Surf Cinclodes
Cinclodes taczanowskii
Brown thrush-like bird of the Peruvian coastline; it never ventures very far from the ocean. Note the buffy wing markings and white streaking on the throat, though its highly specialized habitat is the best identification feature; any brown land bird foraging at the edge of the sea is likely to be this species. Prefers rocky areas over sandy beaches; also seen along concrete embankments.
Snowcap
Microchera albocoronata
Tiny hummingbird; male is unique and beautiful: his body is the color of red wine, and he has a bright white cap. Unmistakable in limited range. Female is less striking, but note small size, snowy white underparts, and short straight bill. Most often seen feeding at small purple flowers in gardens and forest edges
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.