Coracias spatulatus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The racket-tailed roller (Coracias spatulatus) is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is found in southern Africa from Angola, south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Tanzania to northern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.
The racket-tailed roller was formally described in 1880 by the naturalist Roland Trimen under its current binomial name Coracias spatulatus from a specimen collected near the Zambezi River in southern Africa. The specific epithet spatulatus is Modern Latin meaning "spatulate" or "spoon-shaped". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the racket-tailed roller was most closely related to the purple roller (Coracias naevius).
The phylogenetic relationships among the Coracias species are shown below, from the molecular study by Johansson et al. (2018) Alternate names for the racket-tailed roller include the Angola racket-tailed roller and Weigall's roller. The racket-tailed roller is so named for the conspicuous elongated outer feathers on its tail which have long streamers ending in paddle-shaped tips. The bird... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 4 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 8 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Zoo Atlanta | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Raquet-tailed Roller sighting in Hwange National Park on a given day, based on 63 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 108th most-seen of the 308 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and October–November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Raquet-tailed Roller in Hwange National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month. Those are among Hwange National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Raquet-tailed 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.
2nd of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Raquet-tailed Roller sightings, Hwange National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 20%).
Same genus: Coracias
The closest relatives of the Raquet-tailed 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 European Roller (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Raquet-tailed Roller is recorded against all the birds logged in Hwange National Park (63 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.
