Scientific name: Coracias caudata (Linnaeus, 1766).

This species ranges continuously throughout eastern and southern Africa from the Red Sea coasts of Ethiopia and northwest Somalia to the Angola coast and northern South Africa. Lilac-breasted rollers inhabit acacia country with well spaced trees, rolling bushy game lands, riverside areas and cultivated land, but they do not associate with human habitation.

"Rolling" is a territorial advertisement. The bird flies upwards 10 or 12 meters then tips forward and falls with closed wings, quickly gaining speed by flapping. Flying very fast it levels out and rolls to right and left four or five times in a couple of seconds and sweeps up again with closed wings, losing speed until it tips forward a second time and repeats the roll.

Books: Kingfishers, Bee-Eaters, & Rollers: A Handbook.