---
title: "Vorkstaartscharrelaar"
description: "Coracias caudatus — Vogels. The lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) is an African bird of the roller family, Coraciidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/lilac-breasted-roller
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Vorkstaartscharrelaar

> Coracias caudatus — Vogels. The lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) is an African bird of the roller family, Coraciidae.

- Scientific name: *Coracias caudatus*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos), `savanna` (Savanne)
- iNaturalist observations: 9511
- Wikidata: [Q44023](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q44023)
- iNaturalist taxon: [2269](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2269)

## Names

- en: Lilac-breasted Roller
- de: Gabelracke
- es: Carraca lila
- fr: Rollier à longs brins
- nl: Vorkstaartscharrelaar
- pt: Rolieiro-de-peito-lilás
- pl: Kraska liliowopierśna

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (3255), TZ (1463), KE (1412), BW (1009), NA (770), ZM (384), ZW (343), MW (114), MZ (97), UG (93), RW (64), ET (63)

## Summary

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…

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

## Photo

![Vorkstaartscharrelaar](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/lilac-breasted-roller/medium.jpg)

Photo: Philipp Hoenle · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/330590024

## Machine access

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