CreatureData

Lilac-breasted roller

Coracias caudatus Linnaeus, 1766

LCLeast Concernbirds

The lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) is a species in the family Coraciidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh 109 g to 133.5 g and live up to 9.2 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus)
Photo: Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the lilac-breasted roller

Weight
109 g – 133.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
9.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
17.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the lilac-breasted roller live?

Not recorded

What is the lilac-breasted roller?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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. The sexes do not differ in coloration, and juveniles lack the long tail streamers of adults. This species is unofficially considered the national bird of Kenya. Alternative names for the lilac-breasted roller include the fork-tailed roller, lilac-throated roller (also used for a subspecies of purple roller), Mosilikatze's roller, and troupand.

From the Wikipedia article “Lilac-breasted roller” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lilac-breasted_roller&oldid=1357293343), 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 lilac-breasted roller endangered?

The lilac-breasted roller is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the lilac-breasted roller classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCoraciiformes
  5. familyCoraciidae
  6. genusCoracias
  7. SpeciesCoracias caudatus Linnaeus, 1766

Synonyms Coracias caudata, Coracias caudata, Coracias caudata, Coracias caudata

Other names and names in other languages (51)
  • LBROEnglish
  • Gewone TroupantAfrikaans
  • شقراق ليلكي الصدرArabic
  • mukufiBemba
  • Опашата синявицаBulgarian
  • gaig blau de clatell verdCatalan
  • mandelík fialovoprsýCzech
  • Lillabrystet EllekrageDanish
  • GabelrackeGerman
  • GabelschwanzrackeGerman
  • lilbrusta koracioEsperanto
  • Carraca lilaSpanish
  • rohtla-siniraagEstonian
  • savannisininärhiFinnish
  • Rollier à longs brinsFrench
  • Iomlascóir broinnchorcraIrish
  • ondera wovanatjeHerero
  • zlatovrana lastarkaCroatian
  • villásfarkú szalakótaHungarian
  • Ghiandaia marina pettolillaItalian
  • ライラックニシブッポウソウJapanese
  • 분홍가슴파랑새Korean
  • unakwe
  • sikambukwn
  • uodeguotasis žalvarnisLithuanian
  • samunkambuLunda
  • vorkstaartscharrelaarDutch
  • savanneråkeNorwegian
  • cholense
  • letlakelaNorthern Sotho
  • coleNyanja
  • kraska liliowopierśnaPolish
  • rolieiro-de-peito-lilásPortuguese
  • Лиловогрудая сизоворонкаRussian
  • Сиреневогрудая сизоворонкаRussian
  • krakľa vidlochvostáSlovak
  • lastovičja zlatovrankaSlovenian
  • gatahwaShona
  • Modrovrana ljubičastih grudiSerbian
  • lilabröstad blåkråkaSwedish
  • Leylak Renkli GökkuzgunTurkish
  • Eflatun göğüslü gökkuzgunTurkish
  • letlererlereTswana
  • leTleretlereTswana
  • vhevheTsonga
  • nkhambweTumbuka
  • сиворакша рожевоволаUkrainian
  • piniminiVenda
  • 燕尾佛法僧Chinese
  • 紫胸佛法僧Chinese
  • ifefeZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lilac-breasted roller

Other species in the same genus Coracias.

CompareLilac-breasted roller vs European rollerLilac-breasted roller vs Indian rollerLilac-breasted roller vs Abyssinian rollerLilac-breasted roller vs Blue-bellied roller

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lilac-breasted roller?

An adult lilac-breasted roller weighs 109 g – 133.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the lilac-breasted roller endangered?

The lilac-breasted roller is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the lilac-breasted roller live?

The lilac-breasted roller has a recorded lifespan of 9.2 years.

What kind of animal is the lilac-breasted roller?

The lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) belongs to the family Coraciidae in the order Coraciiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lilac-breasted-roller

MLA

“Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lilac-breasted-roller.

BibTeX
@misc{lilac_breasted_roller_2026,
  title = {Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lilac-breasted-roller},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}