# European roller (*Coracias garrulus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-roller  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 146 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 9.17 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 9.2 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | woodland |
| Egg incubation | 18 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.25 |
| Age at maturity | 11.9 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Coraciiformes
- family: Coraciidae
- genus: Coracias
- species: *Coracias garrulus* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Coracias garrula*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: European roller (Coracias garrulus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-roller