The rufous-headed ground roller (''Atelornis crossleyi'') is a species of

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,

Brachypteraciidae The ground rollers, Brachypteraciidae, are a small family of non-migratory birds restricted to Madagascar. They are members of the order Coraciiformes and are most closely related to the rollers in the family Coraciidae. Description Ground rol ...

. It is

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 ...

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 ...

. There are currently five known species of ground rollers. Four of these species live in the eastern and central highland humid forests. Unlike the four other species, the fifth species lives in the dry southwestern spiny bushes of Madagascar. The ''Atelornis crossleyi'' species of the ground rollers lives with most of its family in humid forests. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 stat ...

considers the bird to be

near-threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

because, although it is present in a number of protected areas, it is hunted for food and the forests in which it lives are threatened by

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 ...

cultivation. The bird's scientific name commemorates

Alfred Crossley Alfred Crossley (11 August 1839 – 28 February 1877) was a seaman and natural history collector who explored and collected specimens from Madagascar. A number of species were described from his collections, several named after him including '' Chei ...

who collected mammals, birds, butterflies and moths in Madagascar and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

in the 1860s and 1870s. Many of these are in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

Description

The sexes are similar in this distinctively-coloured bird about long. The head and breast are reddish-brown, the upper parts olive green and the underparts buff with darker markings. There is a narrow blackish collar with white vertical streaks on the upper breast and an iridescent light blue patch on the carpal wing joint. The tail is short and the beak and legs are grey.

Distribution and habitat

The rufous-headed ground roller is

to eastern Madagascar where it is found in montane evergreen rain forests at altitudes between , but is most common between . Although present in most mountain regions, it is absent from

Montagne d'Ambre Montagne d'Ambre National Park is a national park in the Diana Region of northern Madagascar. The park is known for its endemic flora and fauna, water falls and crater lakes. It is north of the capital, Antananarivo, and is one of the most biolo ...

in the far north of the island.

Ecology

The rufous-headed ground roller is terrestrial and feeds amongst dense vegetation on the ground, taking a range of prey, particularly insects such as ants, beetles and their larvae, caterpillars, butterflies and cockroaches. It nests in a burrow up to deep in an earth bank. Breeding probably takes place in December and January, and the clutch size is normally two eggs.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q941142 rufous-headed ground roller Endemic birds of Madagascar rufous-headed ground roller Taxa named by Richard Bowdler Sharpe