Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Dollar bird or Pacific roller (Eurystomus orientalis), 1790s

Dollar bird or Pacific roller (Eurystomus orientalis), 1790s

TAL & Dai-ichi Life Derby Collection, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW; Purchased from The Rt Hon. The 19th Earl of Derby, 2011; PXD 1098, vol. 4, f. 51

Watercolour

The Roller bird family gets its name from the impressive rolling courtship they display in flight.
Dollar-birds have silvery blue coin shaped patches on the tips of their wings.
Dollar-birds travel to northern and eastern Australia in September each year to breed then return to Papua New Guinea around March.
Dollar-birds nest in hollow trees and feed on flying insects.
The Dollar-bird, also known as the Pacific roller or Oriental roller is the only Australian species of the Roller family.
Dollar-birds use the same nest sites for several years.