Details
Coracias caudatus
The lilac-breasted roller is a brightly colored bird of African savannas. From exposed perches it watches for ground prey and drops quickly to seize it.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses Afrotropical savanna, open woodland, scrub, and farm edges. Trees or wires for perching near open foraging ground are favored.
Length is 36-38 cm and weight 80-110 g. A lilac breast, blue-green belly, brown back, and elongated tail feathers are distinctive, with vivid blue wings in flight.
Diurnal pairs hold territories. In breeding season they perform rolling aerial displays that give rollers their name.
A carnivore, it eats grasshoppers, beetles, lizards, small snakes, and scorpions. It drops from a perch and may beat prey with the bill before swallowing.
Pairs nest in tree cavities or old woodpecker holes. Both adults guard eggs and chicks and deliver small ground animals.
It is listed as Least Concern. Adapted to open savanna landscapes, it is one of Africa's most conspicuous birds.
