This adult shows the large blue throat patch that immatures lack. This conspicuous member of the Roller family (Coraciiformes) likes to sit on exposed high perches as seen here. It sometimes goes under the name "Oriental Dollarbird." The "dollar" part of its name comes from the circular silver-white patches in its wings that show like silver dollars in flight. Three subspecies occur in New Guinea of which this is presumably the dark, big-billed, short-tailed resident race E. o. waigiouensis expected in this area. Although still reasonably common over much of its range, this species has retracted from the periphery of its distribution and is largely absent from many areas such as Japan where it formerly occurred.
