The pitta-like ground roller (''Atelornis pittoides'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the ground roller

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Brachypteraciidae The ground rollers are a small family of non-migratory near-passerine birds restricted to Madagascar. They are related to the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. They most resemble the latter group, and are sometimes considered a sub-family of ...

. The species is monotypic, having no subspecies. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The species was described by

Frédéric de Lafresnaye Baron Nöel Frédéric Armand André de Lafresnaye (24 July 1783 – 14 July 1861) was a French ornithologist and collector. Lafresnaye was born into an aristocratic family at Chateau de La Fresnaye in Falaise, Calvados, Falaise, Normandy. He ...

in 1834. The specific name ''pittoides'' is a reference to its resemblance to the

pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are thought to be 40 to 42 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest re ...

s, an unrelated family of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

birds.

Description

The pitta-like ground roller is a small and slender member of the family, long and weighing . It has a cobalt-blue head with a black mask and a white and throat, which is bordered in blue. The upperparts are bronzy green and the belly is white with buff flanks, and the breast and back have a rufous band.

Distribution and habitat

The pitta-like ground roller is

to the eastern half of Madagascar, from the extreme north to the southern edge, and has the widest distribution of any member of the family. It also has a wider range of habitats that it is prepared to occupy, being found in all natural rainforest types on the island from sea-level to , although it is commonest between . It can also appear in smaller numbers in degraded

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. It is generally non-migratory but changes in numbers linked to the weather have been noted so some undescribed movements may be happening.

Behaviour

The pitta-like ground roller is terrestrial and feeds on the ground, taking a range of prey, particularly insects such as ants, beetles, cockroaches and butterflies. It also takes worms and small reptiles such as chameleons and frogs. It hunts by standing motionless and watching, followed by short runs to take a new position. Once prey is located it sallies or runs towards it to take it. The pitta-like ground roller is a seasonal breeder, with most activity happening between October and February. It nests in a cavity dug into an earth bank, usually deep, which ends in a chamber in diameter. The female incubates the two to four shiny white eggs alone, although the male may feed her during the incubation period. Both parents feed the chicks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:roller, ground, pitta-like pitta-like ground roller pitta-like ground roller Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Frédéric de Lafresnaye