A striking Oxford-and-Cambridge-blue bird with big head, heavy black bill, rufous-brown breast , and pale blue abdomen and under tail.Its size is roughly that of a pigeon.The dark and blue portions of the wings show up as brilliant bands in flight.Both sexes appear alike.They are typically seen singly perched on telegraph wires etc preferably in open cultivated country.They are distributed practically throughout the Indian union Their habitat is open cultivated country and light deciduous forests. From a lookout on a telegraph wire or other point of vantage it pounces upon some large insect,frog or lizard on the ground returning with it either on the same perch or flying leisurely across to another nearby.Here the quarry is battered to death and swallowed.This bird is highly beneficial for agriculture since it destroys large quantities of harmful insects.It has a variety of loud,raucous croaks and chuckles.Indulges in spectacular courtship displays , somersaulting and nose diving in the air to the accompaniment of harsh grating screams. Nesting season is chiefly from March to July .Its nest is a collection of straw , rags and rubbish in a natural tree-hollow at moderate heights ,also sometimes a hole in the wall of a building.
Photographs taken at Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Chandrapur, Maharashtra
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