The bird waited patiently perched atop bales of dried grass for quite a while, almost 30 mins. There were several cranes nearby which we went to shoot giving this bird a miss. But there was also a raptor up above - the Indian Spotted Eagle - and this Roller was carefully watching the raptors moves much of the time.

As we returned, the raptor settled, and only then did the roller take flight for catching insects. During its 4/5th trip, not sure which, it flew again, giving us this nice series of shots, but it failed to catch the dragonfly, so it returned to the bales.

This is a colorful bird common throughout the country and is the state bird for many South Indian States. These are found all the way to the Middle East and are easily identified by their unique colors. About 30-35 cms long they are often sighted perched on power lines, fence posts and sometimes on grass bales, fences, posts in the countryside.

Thank you very much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

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Make:	Canon
Model:	Canon EOS R5
Exposure:	1/4000 sec
Aperture:	f/6.3
ISO Speed:	1600
Focal Length:	700 mm
Lens:	EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4x