The short-legged ground roller (''Brachypteracias leptosomus'') 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. It is the only living species in the genus ''Brachypteracias'' and 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 ...

to Madagascar. It is threatened by

habitat loss 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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The short-legged ground roller is the only extant species in the genus ''Brachypteracias,'' although a fossil species, '' Brachypteracias langrandi'', has been described. The short-legged ground roller is more arboreal than other ground rollers, and may represent the ancestral form of the family.Langrand, O. (2017). Ground-rollers (Brachypteraciidae). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/52276 on 20 March 2017). The genus ''Brachypteracias'' once included the scaly ground roller, but a 2001 study of the DNA of the family found that the two are not closely related. The same study found that the short-legged ground roller is basal in the family. The genus name 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 ...

''brakhupteros'' for short-winged.Jobling, J. A. (2017)
''Brachypteracias'' in Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology
In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2017). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from www.hbw.com). The species name ''leptosomus'' is also of Greek origin, and is derived from ''leptos'' for delicate and ''sōma'' for body.Jobling, J. A. (2017)
''leptosomus'' in Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology
In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2017). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from www.hbw.com).

Distribution and habitat

The short-legged ground roller is

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 ...

, where it is present in the northern part of the island through the eastern coast, to the southern end of the island. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is humid tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s, from sea-level to , although it is more common at lower altitudes. It is almost exclusively found in mature closed forest with large trees, but it can also be found on slopes with numerous saplings. It is rarely seen in disturbed forests.Langrand, O. & Kirwan, G.M. (2017). Short-legged Ground-roller (''Brachypteracias leptosomus''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/55865 on 20 March 2017).

Description

The short-legged ground roller has a large head and bill, and a puffy throat. It is the largest forest ground roller, and is stouter than the other species (except for the scaly ground roller). It measures in length, and weighs . Where sexed individuals have been weighed, the males were heavier, but the sample size was small. Females are smaller in other body measurements, for example the wing chord length, which is in females compared to in males. As the name suggests, the legs are short for the family, but contrary to its generic name, the wings are the longest in the family, making this the most arboreal species, but it is still not a strong flier. Like the other members of the family, the

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 ...

is cryptic.

Behaviour

The short-legged ground roller is a secretive species that has only been limitedly studied. Everything that is known about the behaviour of the species has come from a single systematic study of a single pair in

Masoala National Park Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and ...

, and from incidental observations of other birds.

Status and conservation

The short-legged ground roller is considered to be fairly common in its natural habitat. Nevertheless, it is considered to be threatened with extinction due to the rapid loss of its habitat to slash and burns for subsistence agriculture. Its habitat is also considered to be threatened by

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. Modelling of habitat change due to climate change predicts that the species may lose up to 62% of its current habitat. The species is also hunted.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1190023 short-legged ground roller Endemic birds of Madagascar short-legged ground roller Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the Madagascar lowland forests