The lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) is a member of the roller family, Coraciidae, resplendent in a panoply of pastel hues. This African bird is a sight to behold, with its lilac throat and breast, olive crown to mantle, and cheeks of lilac-rufous. The species is further adorned with long, black tail streamers, which juveniles lack. Unofficially, it is considered the national bird of Kenya.
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.[1] 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.
Alternative names for the lilac-breasted roller include the fork-tailed roller, lilac-throated roller (also used for a subspecies of purple roller) and Mosilikatze's roller.
In the field, the lilac-breasted roller is almost unmistakable. Adults boast a lilac throat that deepens into a darker lilac breast, with an olive crown and mantle. The cheeks and ear coverts are a lilac-rufous. Juveniles and immatures can be identified by their lack of tail streamers and a throat and breast of rufous-tawny with broad diffuse buffy-white streaks. The species is not sexually dimorphic, though males may be slightly larger.
The lilac-breasted roller favors open woodland and savanna, typically avoiding treeless expanses. They are often seen perched high, surveying the landscape for prey.
