---
title: "Scharrelaar"
description: "Coracias garrulus — Vogels. The European roller (Coracias garrulus) is the only member of the roller family Coraciidae breeding in Europe."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/european-roller
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Scharrelaar

> Coracias garrulus — Vogels. The European roller (Coracias garrulus) is the only member of the roller family Coraciidae breeding in Europe.

- Scientific name: *Coracias garrulus*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos), `savanna` (Savanne)
- iNaturalist observations: 12011
- Wikidata: [Q179367](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q179367)
- iNaturalist taxon: [2266](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2266)

## Names

- en: European Roller
- de: Blauracke
- es: Carraca Europea
- fr: Rollier d'Europe
- nl: Scharrelaar
- pt: Rolieiro-europeu
- pl: Kraska zwyczajna

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (1703), RU (1603), FR (1441), ES (649), IT (604), DZ (593), RO (371), PT (364), IN (339), UA (336), KZ (307), HU (286)

## Summary

The European roller (Coracias garrulus) is the only member of the roller family Coraciidae breeding in Europe. Its range extends into the Maghreb, West Asia and Central Asia. It winters in southern Africa, primarily in dry wooded savanna and bushy plains. It occurs in a wide variety of habitats, but avoids treeless plains. It usually nests in tree holes.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_roller

## Photo

![Scharrelaar](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/european-roller/medium.jpg)

Photo: Crebassa Jason · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58534902

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/european-roller?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).