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Broad-billed Roller

Eurystomus glaucurus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestCavity nestMedium · 110 g
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 1
Photo: (c) Frank Vassen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 2
Photo: amantedarmanin · CC BY 4.0
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 3
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 4
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 5
Photo: Frank Vassen · CC BY 2.0
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 6
Photo: Frank Vassen · CC BY 2.0
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 7
Photo: peterichman from York, Yorkshire · CC BY 2.0
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus), photo 8
Photo: Tremeau de Rochebrune, Alphonse · Public domain

ID tip

The broad-billed roller is 29–30 cm in length. It has a warm back and head, lilac foreneck and breast, with the rest of the plumage mainly brown. The broad bill is bright yellow. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult, with a pale breast. The broad-billed roller is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blues of the wings and tail contrasting with the brown back. The call of the broad-billed roller is a snarling k-k-k-k-k-r-r-r-r-r sound.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Broad-billed Roller

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Broad-billed Roller

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 41 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Uganda South Africa Madagascar Gambia Zambia Zimbabwe Tanzania Botswana Ghana Nigeria Kenya Senegal Mozambique Namibia Benin Malawi Congo - Kinshasa Rwanda Côte d’Ivoire Ethiopia Guinea-Bissau Cameroon Sierra Leone Liberia Togo Angola Gabon Burkina Faso Guinea Israel Congo - Brazzaville Central African Republic Mali Niger Réunion Eswatini Seychelles Equatorial Guinea Comoros Mayotte South Sudan

Recorded as a rare visitor in Sudan, Somalia.

About the Broad-billed Roller

The broad-billed roller is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial belt in the dry season.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Blue-throated Roller (Eurystomus gularis) Blue-throated RollerEurystomus gularisThe blue-throated roller is a dumpy, large-headed, thick-necked bird that frequents the tops of trees. Azure Dollarbird (Eurystomus azureus) Azure DollarbirdEurystomus azureusThe azure dollarbird also known as the azure roller, purple dollarbird or purple roller, is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. Oriental Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) Oriental DollarbirdEurystomus orientalisThe oriental dollarbird has a length of up to 30 cm.

Side by side: Broad-billed Roller vs Oriental Dollarbird

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