Racket-tailed Roller (Coracias spatulatus) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

WoodlandCavity nestMedium · 90 g

What the Racket-tailed Roller sounds like

Sonogram of the Racket-tailed Roller: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Stephen Lowe · Uncertain · Rd N of Mikumi, Kilosa, Morogoro Region, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The racket-tailed roller is so named for the conspicuous elongated outer feathers on its tail which have long streamers ending in paddle-shaped tips. The bird is 28 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) long with the streamers extending another 8 cm (3 in). The forehead and superciliary streak are white, the crown dull green, the back rufous and the tail blue. The underparts are pale blue with whitish streaking. In flight, the purple upper wing with its azure-blue stripe can be seen. The under wing is pale blue with a purplish-black trailing edge and tip.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Racket-tailed Roller

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Racket-tailed Roller

Regular range

The map shades 9 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Zambia South Africa Zimbabwe Namibia Mozambique Botswana Tanzania Malawi Congo - Kinshasa

About the Racket-tailed Roller

The racket-tailed roller is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is found in southern Africa from Angola, south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Tanzania to northern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.

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

Easily confused with

Purple-winged RollerCoracias temminckiiThe purple-winged roller is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) in length, similar in size to the Eurasian jay.

Blue-bellied RollerCoracias cyanogasterThe blue-bellied roller is a large bird, nearly the size of a jackdaw at 28–30 cm (11–12 in).

Abyssinian RollerCoracias abyssinicusThe Abyssinian roller is a large bird, nearly the size of a jackdaw at 28–30 cm (11–12 in).

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