Lilac-breasted Roller
Coracias caudatus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCoraciiformes (Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies)
- FamilyCoraciidae (Rollers)
- GenusCoracias (Typical Rollers)
- SpeciesCoracias caudatus (Lilac-breasted Roller)
The lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) is an African bird of the roller family, Coraciidae. It is widely distributed in Southern and Eastern Africa, and is a vagrant to the southern Arabian Peninsula. It prefers open woodland and savanna, and it is for the most part absent from treeless places. Usually found alone or in pairs, it perches at the tops of trees, poles or other high vantage points from where it can spot insects, amphibians and small birds moving about on the ground. Nesting takes place in a natural hole in a tree where a clutch of 2–4 eggs are laid, and incubated by both parents, who are extremely aggressive in defence of their nest, taking on raptors and other birds. During the breeding season the male will rise to a fair height (69 to 144 metres), descending in swoops and dives, while uttering harsh, discordant cries. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Nyungwe National Park
Broad-billed Roller
Eurystomus glaucurus
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Merops oreobates
Striped Kingfisher
Halcyon chelicuti
European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster
Pied Kingfisher
Ceryle rudis
Malachite Kingfisher
Corythornis cristatus
Little Bee-eater
Merops pusillus
Gray-headed Kingfisher
Halcyon leucocephala
Woodland Kingfisher
Halcyon senegalensis
African Pygmy-Kingfisher
Ispidina picta
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Merops persicus
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Merops variegatus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Lilac-breasted Roller at Nyungwe National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there