The Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis), is a member of the roller family of birds.The Indian Roller is a stocky bird about 26 cm long. It is one of the most beautiful birds of India. It has vibrant colours. The crown and vent are blue. The primaries are deep purplish blue with a band of pale blue. The tail is sky blue with a terminal band of Prussian blue and the central feathers are dull green. The neck and throat are purplish lilac with white shaft streaks. The bare patch around the eye is ochre in colour. In short it can be said that God has given it a very beautiful dress to wear.
Its beautiful shape and vibrant colour always attracted me. In our childhood we considered this bird as a messenger of God and we use to send our prayers to God through this beautiful bird. I remember a prayer which we ( all friends) use to say when we were very small was "Neelkanth tum neele rahna saari katha ram se kehna pass hon to baithe rahana ,fail hon to ud jana." , after completing this prayer we use to close our eyes and count till 10. If we found Neelkanth sitting, we were relaxed. Most of the time we found this bird sitting there only. Lord Shiva is also called by the name Neelkanth. So Neelkanth or Indian roller has its special place.Seeing this bird in Vijaydashmi or dashehra is considered auspicious.
Video of Indian Roller can be viewed on this link
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