The long-tailed ground roller (''Uratelornis chimaera'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the ground roller

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Brachypteraciidae, placed in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Uratelornis''.

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to arid spiny forests near the coast in southwestern

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, this ground roller occurs at extremely low

population densities Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

throughout its habitat. This species requires shade and a deep layer of leaves on the ground, and it is absent from parts of the spiny forest lacking these features. It has no recognized

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, and its closest relative is the

scaly ground roller The scaly ground roller (''Geobiastes squamiger'') is a species of bird in a monotypic taxon, monotypic genus in the near-passerine family Brachypteraciidae. It is Endemism, endemic to eastern Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tro ...

. The long-tailed ground roller is the only ground roller to definitively display

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

(differences in

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

or size between sexes). It is a medium-sized bird with a plump silhouette and a long tail. The upperparts are dark brown with black streaks while the underparts are light gray. The white throat is framed by black malar stripes and a black breastband, and a white stripe is present at the base of the bill. Sky-blue feathers are visible at the edge of the wings and the tail. Calls are rarely made outside the

breeding season Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and ch ...

, though multiple courtship calls are made. These ground rollers feed primarily on

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s, including ants, beetles, butterflies, and worms, which they find by searching through deep

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

or by remaining still and watching attentively. The ground roller primarily runs through its habitat on its strong legs, as its wings are relatively weak. It is a

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...

species, and it defends a territory during the breeding season of October to February. It digs a tunnel in the sand, at the end of which is a wider chamber where it makes its

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

out of leaves and earthy pellets. Two to four eggs are laid. After the chicks

fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between egg, hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnera ...

, the birds continue living in family groups until at least February before dispersing more widely across the

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

. This bird is classified as vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

and is threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. Since the arid, spiny forests in which it lives are not

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...

by the Malagasy government, it is losing habitat to

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture,

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

collection, and

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksnative peoples of Madagascar.

Taxonomy

British banker and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist, and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...

first described the long-tailed ground roller in 1895, giving it the scientific name ''Uratelornis chimaera''; Rothschild published his description in ''

Novitates Zoologicae ''Novitates Zoologicae: A Journal of Zoology in Connection With the Tring Museum'' was a British scientific journal devoted to systematic zoology. It was edited by Lionel Walter Rothschild and published between 1894 and 1948 by the Tring Museum ...

'', the periodical of his private museum. The adaptations required for the ancestral long-tailed ground roller to inhabit scrubland led Rothschild to create the monotypic genus ''Uratelornis'' for the species in his description. The genus name ''Uratelornis'' is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word ''oura'' "tail," and ''atelornis'' in reference to another genus of ground roller. ''Atelornis'' comes from the Ancient Greek words ''ateles'' "indeterminate or incomplete," and ''ornis'' "bird." The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''chimaera'', is a reference to the Ancient Greek mythological creature known as the

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

. The long-tailed ground roller is placed in the ground roller family, which gets its common name due to its similarity to the rollers and its largely terrestrial nature. Until recently the ground rollers,

cuckoo roller The cuckoo-roller or courol (''Leptosomus discolor'')del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (2001) is the only bird in the family Leptosomidae , which was previously often placed in the order Coraciiformes but is now placed in its own order Lept ...

, and rollers were all placed in a single family, Coraciidae, in which each of the three groups formed a subfamily. In 1971, Joel Cracraft proposed a separate family for the ground rollers based on significant differences in behavior, plumage, and

post-cranial The postcranium ("behind the cranium"; plural: postcrania) or postcranial skeleton in zoology and vertebrate paleontology is the skeleton apart from the skull. The postcranium encompasses the axial skeleton, which includes the entirety of the verte ...

anatomy between the groups. This position is supported by

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

evidence. It has been suggested, but not widely accepted, that ground rollers are closely related to the

puffbird The puffbirds and their relatives in the family Bucconidae are tropical tree-dwelling insectivorous birds that are found from South America up to Mexico. Together with their closest relatives, the jacamars, they form a divergent lineage within th ...

s and

jacamar The jacamars are a family, Galbulidae, of birds from tropical South and Central America, extending up to Mexico. The family contains five genera and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbirds, another Neotropical The Neotro ...

s. It has been speculated that the ancestor of the long-tailed ground roller was an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

roller that crossed over from Africa to Madagascar and developed a terrestrial lifestyle before moving from the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s into the long-tailed ground roller's arid scrubland. No fossils have been found for this genus, and

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts ...

suggests that this bird's closest relative is the

. The long-tailed ground roller has no subspecies.

Description

The long-tailed ground roller's silhouette is highly distinctive due to its long tail and plump silhouette. The bird is long, although its tail can contribute up to of the length, which makes it the longest tail of any of the ground rollers. This ground roller has short wings and long, pinkish-brown legs. The male has a sandy

buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...

crown and dark brown upperparts with black streaks. Its

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...

is a pale buff color, while the ear-

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

are brown. The eyes are brown, while the short and stout

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...

is black. Its tongue is long with a brush-like tip to help it collect insects. A white stripe is present at the base of the bill and is surrounded by brown and black malar stripes. These malar stripes and the black breastband frame a white throat. The tail has 15 to 20 dark brown bars marking it, while the outer

rectrices Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the Bird wing, wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those ...

are sky blue; this sky blue is also present on the wing-coverts. In flight, the bird's two black and white bands on the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

and secondaries are conspicuous. The underparts are a light gray, and the breast white. The toes are zygodactylous, with the first and fourth toes turned outwards and the middle two toes turned inwards. The female resembles the male, but is smaller and has a narrower chestband and a shorter tail. Also, the female loses her tail while nesting. These differences make the long-tailed ground roller the only ground roller to definitively display

. Juveniles of both sexes resemble the adult female, but have duller plumage, particularly in the black bands on the chest, neck, and eyes. Although it is generally a silent species, during the breeding season the vocalizations of the long-tailed ground roller include a "hooting" sound, a "popping" ''tu-tuc'', and a soft ''boo'' sound. The low-pitched "hooting" is given by males from a perch above the ground at dusk or at night. The sound carries for a distance of at least and may either attract a mate or defend a territory. The bird pumps its tail while giving this call. One territorial call is a series of soft ''boo'' notes, typically coming in sets of six to ten and descending in volume near the end. Another call, given by both sexes, is a series of chuckling ''tu-tuc'' sounds lasting between 10 and 40 seconds that occasionally ends in a loud snapping sound produced by the wings. This call is given when birds are close to each other either on the ground or on low perches, and it does not carry over long distances. The use of wing-snapping to produce a sound is a rare phenomenon in birds, and in the order

Coraciiformes The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colourful birds including the kingfishers, the bee-eaters, the rollers, the motmots, and the todies. They generally have syndactyly, with three forward-pointing toes (and toes 3 & 4 fused at their b ...

only one other family, the

todies The todies are a family, Todidae, of tiny Caribbean birds in the order Coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. The family has one living genus, '' Todus'', and one genus known from the fossil record, '' Palaeo ...

, is known to do it. Low ''gu'' notes are given by mates as they come in contact with each other.

Distribution and habitat

to the island nation of Madagascar, the long-tailed ground roller inhabits a narrow strip of suitable habitat by the coast in the southwestern part of the island. This strip is bordered by the

Mangoky River The Mangoky River is a 564-kilometer-long (350 mi) river in Madagascar in the regions of Atsimo-Andrefana and Anosy. It is formed by the Mananantanana and the Matsiatra. Another important affluent is the Zomandao River. It rises in the ...

in the north, the

Fiherenana River ''Fiherenana'' is a river in the region Atsimo-Andrefana in southern Madagascar. It flows into the Indian Ocean at Tulear. Due to a local '' fady'' (taboo), pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various smal ...

in the south, and lowland hills in the east. It totals about in area; however, the species is extremely uncommon within its range and occurs at densities of about 0.8 to 10 per square kilometer (2.1 to 25 per square mile). This area ranges in elevation from sea level to . The long-tailed ground roller does not

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, though it may disperse across a larger area outside the breeding season. This species' prime habitat is spiny forest, a mix of sub-arid thorn-scrub and deciduous woodland that only receives on average of water a year and is covered in sandy soil. The dominant plants in these spiny forests belong to the cactus-like family

Didiereaceae Didiereaceae is a family of flowering plants found in continental Africa and Madagascar. It contains 20 species classified in three subfamilies and six genera. Species of the family are succulent plants, growing in sub-arid to arid habitats. Seve ...

(especially ''

Didierea madagascariensis ''Didierea madagascariensis'', common name, commonly known as the octopus tree, is a species of Didiereaceae endemic to the Madagascar spiny thickets, spiny thickets of southwestern Madagascar. It was first species description, described scientif ...

'') and more tree-like family

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

(especially '' Euphorbia stenoclada'').

Baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). The eight species of ''Adansonia'' are native to Africa, Australia, and Madagascar but have also been introduced to other regions of the world, including Barb ...

trees are also prevalent. It was formerly believed that the long-tailed ground roller preferred an undisturbed forest habitat, while tolerating small amounts of disturbance. Later studies have concluded that it actually prefers degraded habitat. Despite this, shade is necessary, and the species is not found in deforested habitat or on the shadeless dunes prevalent in its range.

Ecology and behavior

The long-tailed ground roller is a shy and elusive bird and, if seen by a human observer, it either freezes or runs away. As its short wings suggest, the species rarely flies, but it is a powerful runner. While largely terrestrial, it roosts in low trees and bushes, and sings from low perches. Long-tailed ground rollers are solitary outside the breeding season. Although diurnal, it does occasionally forage at night unlike most other ground rollers. When calling, this ground roller bobs its head and raises its tail. The long-tailed ground roller also raises its tail when it is excited.

Diet

This species forages almost exclusively from the ground, where it alternates between remaining still and watching attentively and actively searching for it by rummaging through deep leaf litter. It eats a wide range of invertebrates, including ants, beetles, butterflies, caterpillars, cockroaches, grasshoppers, woodlice, and worms, and occasionally small vertebrates. Despite the long-tailed ground roller's poor flying abilities, it has been seen catching butterflies in midair.

Reproduction

The breeding season coincides with the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

, which lasts from October to January. During this period this bird abandons its solitary habits to find a mate, with which it remains

. Males form

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

during the breeding season, and they defend their area with territorial calls. These calls are given from a perch up to off the ground for an hour after sunrise and occasionally throughout the day and night. During courtship, males have been observed feeding the female. Male and female long-tailed ground rollers use their bills and feet to excavate a burrow in consolidated, flat sand and construct their nest at the end of it. The burrow, always constructed away from grassy vegetation, is downward-sloping and is between long with a diameter of . The end of the burrow widens into a wide chamber with a shallow depression covered in dry leaves and earthy pellets. When digging its nest, the long-tailed ground roller occasionally walks underneath a low branch, tilts its head upwards, and, while remaining motionless, releases a rising crescendo of its ''tu-tuc'' calls. At the height of the crescendo the bird breaks off its call and flies upwards onto the branch while producing a "ripping and crackling sound" with its wingbeats. From the perch the bird releases a stream of ''boo'' notes. This display is thought to be part of a courtship ritual. Each pair digs one to six nesting burrows during the breeding season; the extra burrows are known as speculative burrows. Between October and January, and peaking in November, the species normally lays two smooth, white eggs, though sometimes it lays three or four. The incubation period and fledging time of this ground roller is unknown. After the young fledge, they live in a family group of four to five birds until approximately February, at which point the family disperses.

Conservation

Classified as vulnerable by the

due to ongoing habitat destruction and a decline in the quality of the remaining habitat, the long-tailed ground roller is believed to be the most threatened species of ground roller. Thirty percent of its already small habitat area was degraded between the mid-1970s and 2000. Slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal production, logging, and cattle grazing have all contributed to the

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. As of 2012, no reserves protect any portion of its habitat, and as a result its habitat has been described as the area of Madagascar most in need of conservation efforts. It is also threatened by both hunting and

egg-collecting Oology (; also oölogy) is a branch of ornithology studying bird eggs, nests and breeding behaviour. The word is derived from the Greek ''oion'', meaning egg. Oology can also refer to the hobby of collecting wild birds' eggs, sometimes called e ...

. In addition to humans, dogs hunt this species, and the introduced

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

is a nest predator. This ground roller is capable of tolerating some habitat disturbance, but requires a suitable amount of shade and leaf litter to continue living in the area. Although it was fairly common at the beginning of the twentieth century, its population went into decline and it was considered rare by the 1960s. As of 2012, the estimated population of the long-tailed ground roller is between 9,500 and 32,700 birds and declining.

Relationship with humans

As the long-tailed ground roller is remarkably silent and difficult to see during the non-breeding season, the local inhabitants of Madagascar once believed that this bird hibernated in its burrows. While not particularly tasty, this species is hunted for food due to its large size and the relative ease of capture compared with arboreal birds. In the early twentieth century, it was hunted by herdsmen with

blowgun A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the force created by ...

s. In the 1950s and 1960s, natives trapped this ground roller and dug out its nesting burrows. This bird has been featured on several of Madagascar's stamps. Only one zoo, Germany's

Weltvogelpark Walsrode Walsrode World Bird Park (), known as Jubs in English until 2010, is a bird park located in the middle of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany within the municipality of Bomlitz near Walsrode in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the l ...

, keeps this species. It is considered by

birdwatcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

s to be one of the world's most elusive birds.

References

Cited texts

* * *

External links

Image Gallery
at ARKive.org
Original description
at the

Internet Bird Collection Lynx Nature Books, based in Barcelona, is a publishing company specializing in ornithology and natural history. The company was founded in 1989. It was formerly named Lynx Edicions. History Lynx Nature Books was founded as Lynx Edicions in Barce ...

Videos
at the

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1055839 long-tailed ground roller Endemic birds of Madagascar long-tailed ground roller Taxonomy articles created by Polbot