Suhara Shrine Oriental Dollarbird Breeding Ground

The Oriental dollarbird is a lovely summer visitor with a blue-green body and red bill and feet, nesting in tree hollows or the buildings of shrines and temples. It hawks insects in flight. Its call was once thought to sound like the Buddhist Three Jewels, hence its name. Breeding sites across Japan, from Saitama to Fukuoka, are designated Natural Monuments.