How Dussehra ritual pushes Indian Roller, Telangana’s state bird, towards extinction

A bird of the Coraciidae family, Indian Roller has a pinkish face and throat, brown head and back, blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail. To make this ritual possible, hunters are capturing these birds, tying their legs, and confining them in cages. Many are left wounded and starved, stripped of their freedom and dignity. “Must we harm them so brutally for tradition’s sake?” ask bird lovers.

As part of Dussehra observances, villagers perform rituals at the Jammi tree and believe that sighting the Indian Roller ensures victory and good fortune. Some even cite mythological references: Rama is believed to have seen the bird before defeating Ravana, and the Pandavas are said to have glimpsed it before reclaiming their weapons during exile.

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Over time, this belief has turned into a ritual of seeking out the bird during Dussehra. Yet, to meet demand, poachers are illegally trapping the Indian Roller — Telangana’s official state bird — and displaying it for a price. As a result, its population is steadily declining. Conservationists fear that unless the practice is curbed, the species may vanish from the state altogether.

Helps maintain ecological balance

The threat has mobilised anti-poaching squads and bird protection groups across Telangana. With Dussehra drawing near, forest officials are patrolling to catch poachers and rescue caged birds. Traditionally, Dussehra is a celebration of victory, with villagers offering prayers to the goddess and the Jammi tree. Spotting the vividly coloured Roller, its wings a mosaic of turquoise, indigo, and chestnut, has long been seen as an omen of success. But this cultural symbolism now comes at the cost of survival for the bird itself.

Known scientifically as Coracias benghalensis, the Indian Roller is a striking bird about 12 to 13 inches long with wings spanning 26 inches. Its rose-hued face, brown crown, and vibrant blue feathers make it a spectacle in flight. It has also been recognised as the state bird of Odisha and Karnataka, and plays a crucial ecological role by preying on insects, rodents, and pests. But reports show that its numbers have dropped by 30% in the last twelve years, driven by habitat loss, pesticide use, and ritual hunting.

The bird’s decline is especially troubling for farmers. The Indian Roller has earned the name “farmer’s friend,” feeding on crop-damaging insects and helping maintain ecological balance. According to Harikrishna Adepu, founder-president of Hyderabad Birding Pals, the bird is a source of pride for Telangana. “Protecting it is our collective responsibility. By saving forests, reducing pesticides, and raising awareness, we can bring meaningful change,” he told Federal Telangana.

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Today, the sight of the Roller is rare. In Hyderabad, where concrete has replaced grasslands, and in villages where pesticides blanket the fields, the bird struggles to survive. Recognising its dwindling numbers, the government has listed the Indian Roller as a species requiring conservation measures. Across India’s 1,300 bird species, 178 have been prioritised for protection.

Poachers make hay during the festive season

The Roller thrives in semi-arid plains, scrub forests, grasslands, and farmlands, feeding on insects, amphibians, and small reptiles. But rapid urbanisation and real estate expansion are destroying these habitats. “By cutting down large, old trees that serve as nesting sites, we are depriving the bird of its home,” says Kalyanapu Suman, Project Manager at the Telangana Forest Development Corporation. “Without safe habitats, their breeding suffers, and numbers in towns and cities continue to fall.”

Legal protections already exist. The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 prohibits capturing, caging, or displaying the Indian Roller. Offenders face up to three years in prison and fines of one lakh rupees, with harsher penalties for repeat violations. Yet despite these laws, poachers continue to exploit the festive season to trap and sell the birds.

“Caging the Indian Roller is pushing it towards grave danger,” warns Shivakumar Varma, founder of the Voice of Nature Foundation. His organisation has been rescuing trapped birds for over a decade, working alongside the Forest Department’s anti-poaching squads. Rescued Rollers are treated in bird rehabilitation centres before being released into the wild. But the task is not easy. Poachers rarely disclose where they caught the birds, making it difficult to return them to their native habitats.

Starved of their natural diet of insects, Indian Rollers kept in cages suffer from hunger and exhaustion. Poachers often feed them fruits and vegetables, which the birds do not eat. Bound by ropes or stuffed into bags, many sustain injuries to their legs and wings, and only a few survive long enough to be released. “By tying their legs, you cripple their ability to fly, and most of them never recover,” says Phanikrishna Ravi, a representative of Hyderabad Birding Pals.

Safeguarding the bird of victory

Once rescued, the birds are taken to wildlife rehabilitation centres for treatment by veterinarians. Ideally, conservationists say, the birds should be released into the same area they were captured from, but this is often impossible without accurate information from poachers. Even when released elsewhere, survival becomes uncertain.

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Officials are appealing to the public for empathy. “These birds are starving, injured, and traumatised. We must change our mindset and see them where they belong — in the wild, not in cages,” urges A. Shankaran, OSD of the Telangana Forest Department. He questions the morality of harming a bird that benefits farmers by controlling pests: “How justifiable is it to torture the very species that helps us?”

As Dussehra nears, the call grows louder: let devotion not become destruction. The Voice of Nature Foundation urges devotees to admire the Roller in its natural habitat rather than demand caged spectacles. True reverence, conservationists argue, lies in watching the Pālapitta wheel freely in the sky, not behind bars. If Dussehra is to remain a festival of victory, then safeguarding the bird of victory must be part of the celebration.

(This piece was first published in The Federal Telangana).