Lilac-breasted Roller
Lilac-breasted RollerLilac-breasted RollerLilac-breasted RollerLilac-breasted Roller

Lilac-breasted Roller

Coracias caudatus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
20–30% · Possible
overall probability at Selous Game Reserve
13 Verified records at Selous Game Reserve
October Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

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 →

20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Lilac-breasted Roller sighting in Selous Game Reserve, based on 13 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Selous Game Reserve

Broad-billed Roller
LC

Broad-billed Roller

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Eurystomus glaucurus

10–20% · With luck
Little Bee-eater
LC

Little Bee-eater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Merops pusillus

60–70% · Likely
White-fronted Bee-eater
LC

White-fronted Bee-eater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Merops bullockoides

50–60% · Likely
Pied Kingfisher
LC

Pied Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Ceryle rudis

50–60% · Likely
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
LC

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Halcyon albiventris

50–60% · Likely
Boehm's Bee-eater
LC

Boehm's Bee-eater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Merops boehmi

40–50% · Likely
Malachite Kingfisher
LC

Malachite Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Corythornis cristatus

30–40% · Possible
Striped Kingfisher
LC

Striped Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Halcyon chelicuti

20–30% · Possible
Gray-headed Kingfisher
LC

Gray-headed Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Halcyon leucocephala

10–20% · With luck
Giant Kingfisher
LC

Giant Kingfisher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Megaceryle maxima

10–20% · With luck
Whitethroated Bee-eater
LC

Whitethroated Bee-eater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Merops albicollis

10–20% · With luck
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
LC

Southern Carmine Bee-eater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Merops nubicoides

Insufficient data

📅 Monthly Probability

20–30
Jan
20–30
Feb
10–20
Mar
20–30
Apr
20–30
May
10–20
Jun
30–40
Jul
20–30
Aug
10–20
Sep
30–40
Oct
10–20
Nov
10–20
Dec

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

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

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
80–90%
2 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
70–80%
3 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
70–80%
4 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
70–80%
5 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
60–70%
6 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
60–70%
7 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
60–70%
8 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
60–70%
9 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
60–70%
10 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
50–60%
11 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
50–60%
12 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
50–60%
13 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
50–60%
14 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
50–60%
15 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
50–60%
16 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
50–60%
17 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
50–60%
18 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
40–50%
19 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
40–50%
20 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
40–50%
21 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
40–50%
22 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
30–40%
23 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
30–40%
24 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
30–40%
25 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
30–40%
26 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
20–30%
27 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
20–30%
28 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
20–30%
29 Selous Game Reserve 🇹🇿 Tanzania
20–30%
30 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
20–30%
31 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
20–30%
32 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
10–20%
33 Waterberg Plateau Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
10–20%
34 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
5–10%
35 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
36 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
37 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
38 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
39 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
40 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
41 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
<5%
42 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
43 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
44 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
45 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
46 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
Insufficient data
47 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
48 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Lilac-breasted Roller in Selous Game Reserve?

About 23% of wildlife watchers report a Lilac-breasted Roller sighting in Selous Game Reserve, based on 13 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Lilac-breasted Roller in Selous Game Reserve?

October has the highest sighting rate for Lilac-breasted Roller in Selous Game Reserve in our monthly data.

← Back to Selous Game Reserve