Coracias garrulus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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.
The European roller was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Coracias garrulus. The type locality is Sweden. The generic name derives from Greek korakias referring to a type of corvid, perhaps the red-billed chough. The specific epithet garrulus is from Latin and means 'chattering' in reference to the bird's calls. Alternate English names include the blue roller, common roller, Eurasian roller, or simply roller.
A molecular phylogenetic study by Ulf Johansson and collaborators published in 2018 found that the European roller was most closely related to the Abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinicus). The rollers are medium-sized Old World birds of open woodland habitats. They have brightly coloured plumage... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Zoo Hluboka | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 5 | Parc animalier de Sainte-Croix | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Zoo Opole | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Kharkiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 9 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Plock Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 11 | Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 13 | Kharkiv Dolphinarium | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 14 | Sea Life | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Ogród zoologiczny w Lubinie | 🇵🇱 Poland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Roller sighting in Hwange National Park on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 149th most-seen of the 308 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to February
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a European Roller in Hwange National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to November, the lowest months. Those are among Hwange National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Roller sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 42
Of the 42 parks where we can rate European Roller sightings, Hwange National Park ranks 13th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%), Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 30%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 30%).
Same genus: Coracias
The closest relatives of the European Roller that you can see in Hwange National Park (genus Coracias, Typical Rollers) are Lilac-breasted Roller (about 70%), Rufous-crowned Roller (about 20%) and Raquet-tailed Roller (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Roller is recorded against all the birds logged in Hwange National Park (39 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
