Blue-bellied Roller

Blue-bellied Roller

Coracias cyanogaster

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Accra

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

17 Verified sightings at Accra
74 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Blue-bellied Roller

The blue-bellied roller (Coracias cyanogaster) is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across Africa in a narrow belt from Senegal to northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is resident, apart from some local seasonal movements, in mature moist savannah dominated by Isoberlinia trees.

The blue-bellied roller was given the binomial name Coracias cyanogaster in 1816 by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier based on "Le Rollier à ventre bleu" that had been described and illustrated by François Levaillant in 1806. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek kuanos meaning "dark-blue" with gastēr meaning "belly". Levaillant mistaken believed that the specimen had been collected on the island of Java. The species is resident in West-Africa and the type location was later designated as Senegal. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

The phylogenetic relationships among the Coracias species are shown below, from the molecular study by Johansson et al. (2018) The blue-bellied roller is a large bird, nearly the size of a jackdaw at 28–30 cm (11–12 in). It has a very dark brown back, buffy or chalky white head, neck and... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:23

Senegal · 2026

© Peter Boesman · XC1081151 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:58

Senegal · 2019

© Bram Piot · XC486005 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:05

Burkina Faso · 2010

© G.Boano · XC44735 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
~30%
2 Abuja 🇳🇬 Nigeria
<5%
3 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
<5%
4 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 SeaWorld Orlando 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
5 North Carolina Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Dvůr Králové Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
7 Réserve africaine de Sigean 🇫🇷 France In captivity
8 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
9 Abilene Zoological Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
10 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
11 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
12 Toronto Zoo 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity
13 Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Kansas City Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Nashville Zoo at Grassmere 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
16 Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
17 Oakland Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
18 The Maryland Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
19 Toledo Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
20 Detroit Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
21 Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
22 Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
23 Audubon Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
24 Saint Louis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
25 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
26 Caldwell Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
27 Woodland Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
28 Wrocław Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
29 San Francisco Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
30 Moody Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
31 Franklin Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
32 ZooTampa 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
33 Fort Worth Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
34 Indianapolis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
35 Oregon Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
36 Wilhelma 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
37 Houston Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
38 San Antonio Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
39 Cameron Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
40 Cologne Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
41 Philadelphia Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
42 Attica Zoological Park 🇬🇷 Greece In captivity
43 London Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
44 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
45 Cleres Zoological Park 🇫🇷 France In captivity
46 Lincoln Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
47 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
48 Biotropica 🇫🇷 France In captivity
49 Gladys Porter Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
50 The Abilene Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-bellied Roller in Accra?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-bellied Roller sighting in Accra on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 108th most-seen of the 162 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue-bellied Roller in Accra?

March and July–August

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-bellied Roller in Accra on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and September–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Blue-bellied Roller?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-bellied Roller sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Accra the best place to see a Blue-bellied Roller?

3rd of 4

Of the 4 cities where we can rate Blue-bellied Roller sightings, Accra ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Serrekunda (Gambia, about 30%) and Abuja (Nigeria, under 5%).

Where does the Blue-bellied Roller sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-bellied Roller is recorded against all the birds logged in Accra (17 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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