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 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 forehead and superciliary streak are white, the crown dull green, the back rufous and the tail blue.

[6] Similar to other members of Coracias, this species hunts for prey from a perch in the mid-storey region of woodland.

The population trend is thought to be declining because of loss of the forest habitat, especially miombo and mopane woodland.