European roller
Coracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758
The European roller (Coracias garrulus), also called the Roller, is a bird of the family Coraciidae in the order Coraciiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of woodland with a perching lifestyle, and its adult body mass is 146 g, with a highest reported value of 148 g.
Quick facts about the European roller
It is an invertivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level, and its geographic range covers 9,539,000 km². It lays 4.25 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 18 days, and it is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 146 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 9.17 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 9.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 18 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.25src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the European roller
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the European roller live?
Not recorded
What is the European roller?
The European roller (Coracias garrulus) is the only member of the roller family Coraciidae breeding in Europe. Its range extends into the Maghreb, West Asia and Central Asia. It winters in southern Africa, primarily in dry wooded savanna and bushy plains. It occurs in a wide variety of habitats, but avoids treeless plains. It usually nests in tree holes.
From the Wikipedia article “European roller” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_roller&oldid=1362183513), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the European roller endangered?
The European roller is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the European roller classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyCoraciidae
- genusCoracias
- SpeciesCoracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Coracias garrula
Other names and names in other languages (106)
- EUROEnglish
- RollerEnglish
- RollerEnglish
- Europese TroupandAfrikaans
- Europese TroupantAfrikaans
- خضيريArabic
- شقراق أوروبيArabic
- أبو زريق(الشقراق الأوروبي)Arabic
- ЛъарагъедуAvaric
- Dra-dra göycəqarğaAzerbaijani
- Күк ҡарғаBashkir
- Сіні сівагракBelarusian
- Сіваграк звычайныBelarusian
- Сiнi сiвагракBelarusian
- СинявицаBulgarian
- Korag-EuropaBreton
- Gaig blauCatalan
- gaig blau comúCatalan
- Ыжар каракMari
- Кӑвак куракChuvash
- Кăвак куракChuvash
- mandelík hajníCzech
- rholyddWelsh
- RholyddionWelsh
- ellekrageDanish
- BlaurackeGerman
- MandelkräheGerman
- ΧαλκοκουρούναGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΧαλκοκουρούναGreek
- eŭropa koracioEsperanto
- carracaSpanish
- Carraca europeaSpanish
- siniraagEstonian
- KarrakaBasque
- سبزقبای وراجPersian
- سبزقبای معمولیPersian
- sininärhiFinnish
- BláfjatlaFaroese
- Rollier d'EuropeFrench
- rollier d`europeFrench
- Rollier d’EuropeFrench
- Rollóir EorpachIrish
- CuairsgeanScottish Gaelic
- Gaio azulGalician
- RolleyderManx
- כחל מצויHebrew
- כחלHebrew
- zlatovranaCroatian
- szalakótaHungarian
- Európai szalakótaHungarian
- ՆերկարարArmenian
- BláhraniIcelandic
- ghiandaia marinaItalian
- ニシブッポウソウJapanese
- ჩვეულებრივი ყაპყაპიGeorgian
- КъуаргъкъащхъуэKabardian
- КөкқарғаKazakh
- 유럽파랑새Korean
- 푸른파랑새Korean
- QelaşînkKurdish
- RolyerCornish
- Bloe RackertLuxembourgish
- žalvarnisLithuanian
- europinis žalvarnisLithuanian
- zaļā vārnaLatvian
- модровранаMacedonian
- യൂറോപ്യൻ പനങ്കാക്കMalayalam
- युरोपियन नीलकंठMarathi
- blåråkeNorwegian Bokmål
- scharrelaarDutch
- kraskaPolish
- kraska (zwyczajna)Polish
- Kraska zwyczajnaPolish
- ټغPashto
- rolieiroPortuguese
- Rolieiro-comumPortuguese
- rolieiro-europeuPortuguese
- dumbrăveancăRomanian
- РакшаRussian
- Сизоворо́нкаRussian
- сизоворонкаRussian
- Обыкновенная сизоворонкаRussian
- или ракшаRussian
- Oбыкнове́нная сизоворо́нкаRussian
- PакшаRussian
- AlitguovssatNorthern Sami
- alitvuorččisNorthern Sami
- krakľa belasáSlovak
- zlatovrankaSlovenian
- sorra e kaltërAlbanian
- grifsha e detitAlbanian
- ModrovranaSerbian
- blåkråkaSwedish
- ஐரோப்பிய பனங்காடைTamil
- นกตะขาบยูเรเชียThai
- gokkuzgunTurkish
- gökkuzgunTurkish
- leTleretlereTswana
- СиворакшаUkrainian
- Звичайна сиворакшаUkrainian
- сиворакша євразійськаUkrainian
- європейська сиворакшаUkrainian
- Sả châu ÂuVietnamese
- 蓝胸佛法僧Chinese
- 藍胸佛法僧Chinese
- iFefeZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the European roller
Other species in the same genus Coracias.
Indian roller
Coracias benghalensis
Lilac-breasted roller
Coracias caudatus
Abyssinian roller
Coracias abyssinicus
Blue-bellied roller
Coracias cyanogaster
Purple roller
Coracias naevius
Racket-tailed roller
Coracias spatulatus
CompareEuropean roller vs Indian rollerEuropean roller vs Lilac-breasted rollerEuropean roller vs Abyssinian rollerEuropean roller vs Blue-bellied roller
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the European roller?
The European roller is a bird of the family Coraciidae, in the order Coraciiformes and the genus Coracias.
How heavy is the European roller?
The European roller has an adult body mass of 146 g, with a highest reported value of 148 g. It falls in the small size class.
What does the European roller eat?
The European roller is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the European roller endangered?
No. The European roller is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the European roller live?
The European roller has a lifespan of 9.167 years, with a highest reported value of 9.2 years.
How many eggs does the European roller lay?
The European roller lays 4.25 eggs per clutch and has one clutch per year. Incubation lasts 18 days.
Does the European roller migrate?
Yes, the European roller is migratory. Its geographic range covers 9,539,000 km².
Who named the European roller?
The European roller was named Coracias garrulus by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). European roller (Coracias garrulus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-roller
“European roller (Coracias garrulus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-roller.
@misc{european_roller_2026,
title = {European roller (Coracias garrulus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-roller},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}