- Ground-roller
Taxobox
name = Ground Rollers
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Aves
ordo =Coraciiformes
familia = Brachypteraciidae
familia_authority = Bonaparte, 1854
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision =
*"Brachypteracias "
*"Geobiastes "
*"Atelornis "
*"Uratelornis "
synonyms =
* Atelornithidae
Taxobox_authority | author = Chenu & Des Murs | date = 1852 ("nomen oblitum ")The ground-rollers are a small family of non-migratory
near-passerine bird s restricted toMadagascar . They are related to thekingfisher s,bee-eater s androller s. They most resemble the latter group, and are sometimes considered a sub-family of the true rollers.Description
Ground-rollers share the generally crow-like size and build of the true rollers, ranging from 25-49 centimetres in lengthcite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Forshaw, J. & Kemp, A.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 147|isbn= 1-85391-186-0] , and also hunt
reptile s and largeinsect s. They are more terrestrial than the Coracidae species, and this is reflected in their longer legs and shorter, more rounded wings.They lack the highly colourful appearance of the true rollers, and are duller in appearance, with striped or flecked
plumage . They are much more elusive and shy than their relatives, and are normally difficult to find in the Malagasy forests. Often the hooting breeding call is all that betrays their presence.These birds nest as solitary pairs in holes in the ground which they excavate themselves, unlike the true rollers, which rarely nest in ground holes and even then do not dig their own nests.
ystematics
mtDNA analyses confirmed the systematics of this group but indicated that merging "Geobiastes" into "Brachypteracias", as was usually done since the 1960s, should be reverted at least until a more comprehensive review (e.g. supported byfossil s) is possible (Kirchman "et al.", 2001). There is presently no fossil record of ground-rollers;Eocene remains from Europe at first tentatively assigned to this family were later recognized as quite distinct (Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2000). Presently, there is no indication that ground-rollers ever occurred anywhere outside Madagascar (Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré, 2001).pecies
There are five species in four genera:
FAMILY BRACHYPTERACIIDAE
* Genus "Brachypteracias"
**Short-legged Ground Roller , "Brachypteracias leptosomus "
* Genus "Geobiastes"
**Scaly Ground Roller , "Geobiastes squamiger"
* Genus "Uratelornis"
**Long-tailed Ground Roller , "Uratelornis chimaera "
* Genus "Atelornis "
**Pitta-like Ground Roller , "Atelornis pittoides "
**Rufous-headed Ground Roller , "Atelornis crossleyi "References
* Kirchman, Jeremy J.; Hackett, Shannon J.; Goodman, Steven M. & Bates, John M. (2001): Phylogeny and systematics of ground rollers (Brachypteraciidae) of Madagascar, "Auk" 118(4): 849–863. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118 [0849:PASOGR] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1642%2F0004-8038%282001%29118%5B0849%3APASOGR%5D2.0.CO%3B2 HTML abstract]
* Mayr, Gerald & Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile (2000): Rollers (Aves: Coraciiformes. s.s.) from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany) and the Upper Eocene of the Quercy (France). "J. Vertebr. Paleontol." 20(3): 533–546. DOI:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020 [0533:RACSSF] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/rollers.pdf PDF fulltext]
* Mayr, Gerald & Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile (2003): Phylogeny and fossil record of the Brachypteraciidae: A comment on Kirchman "et al." (2001). "Auk" 120(1): 202-203. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120 [0202:PAFROT] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/brachypteraciidae.pdf PDF fulltext]
External links
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=93 Ground-roller videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://montereybay.com/creagrus/ground-rollers.html Don Roberson's Bird Families of the World]
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