Broad-billed roller | |
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Nominate race in Madagascar (above) E. g. suahelicus in South Africa (below) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Coraciidae |
Genus: | Eurystomus |
Species: | E. glaucurus |
Binomial name | |
Eurystomus glaucurus (Müller, PLS, 1776) | |
native range | |
Synonyms | |
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The broad-billed roller (Eurystomus glaucurus) is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial belt in the dry season.
The broad-billed roller was formally described in 1776 by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller under the binomial name Coracias glaucurus. [2] The specific epithet is from Ancient Greek glaukos meaning "blue-grey". [3] Statius Müller based his brief description on "Le Rollier de Madagascar" that had been described in 1775 by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon and illustrated by Edme-Louis Daubenton. [4] [5] The type locality is Madagascar. [6] The broad-billed roller is now placed in the genus Eurystomus that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. [7] [8] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the broad-billed roller was most closely related to the blue-throated roller (Eurystomus gularis). [9] Alternate names for the broad-billed roller include the African broad-billed roller and the cinnamon roller.
Four subspecies are recognized: [8]
The broad-billed roller is 29–30 cm in length. It has a warm back and head, lilac foreneck and breast, with the rest of the plumage mainly brown. The broad bill is bright yellow. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult, with a pale breast. [10] The broad-billed roller is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blues of the wings and tail contrasting with the brown back.
The call of the broad-billed roller is a snarling k-k-k-k-k-r-r-r-r-r sound.
This is a species of open woodland with some tall trees, preferably near water. These rollers often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrikes.
They are inactive for most of the day, apart from chasing intruders, but in late afternoon they hunt for the swarming ants and termites on which they feed, sometimes in groups of 100 or more rollers. They drink like swallows, dipping their bills into water in flight.
This bird nests in an unlined hole in a tree cavity, laying 2-3 eggs.
The common green magpie is a member of the crow family, roughly about the size of the Eurasian jay or slightly smaller. In the wild specimens are usually a bright green colour, slightly lighter on the underside and has a thick black stripe from the bill to the nape. Compared to the other members of its genus, the white-tipped tail is quite long. This all contrasts vividly with the red fleshy eye rims, bill and legs. The wings are reddish maroon.
Eurystomus is a genus of roller, one of the two genera in that family of birds. The name means ‘broad mouth’, from the Greek eurus and stoma.
Coracias is a genus of the rollers, an Old World family of near passerine birds related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups, blues and browns predominating. The two outer front toes are connected, but not the inner one.
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The Madagascar green pigeon or Madagascan green pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte. The taxon griveaudi, by most authorities considered a subspecies of the Madagascan green pigeon, is sometimes considered a separate species, the Comoros green pigeon. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The blue-throated roller is a species of roller in the family Coraciidae. It is native to the African tropical rainforest.
The pectoral sparrow is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The Brazilian name for this species is tico-tico-de-bico-preto, which in translation means "black billed sparrow".
The hooded butcherbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Artamidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The variegated antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, the Guianas and the northern Amazon Basin. Its range extends to Venezuela in the northwest; in the Amazon Basin, it is found in the downstream half of the basin, as well as in the Atlantic outlet region of the neighboring Tocantins-Araguaia River drainage to the southeast. A minor disjunct population is in Peru, and an Argentinian population is found in the tongue of land between Paraguay and southern Brazil.
The rufous-throated antbird is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
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