Leptosomidae Cuckoo-roller
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
Though it has the long tail of a cuckoo and large head and hooked bill of a roller, the Cuckoo-roller does not share close evolutionary origins with either of its namesake birds. Males and females of this monotypic family are strikingly dimorphic in appearance, with males resembling large cuckoo-shrikes (light gray and black) except in having greenish iridescence in the wings. By contrast, females are light brown with profuse barring and spots in shades of black and dark gray. Their loud whistled screams can be heard from afar, and they are not infrequently seen throughout much of their range. However, the relative paucity of information about this species’ breeding biology leaves many interesting discoveries to be made.
Habitat
Cuckoo-rollers are inhabitants of tropical and subtropical forests, parklands, and even agricultural areas.
Diet and Foraging
The diet of Leptosomus consists of large invertebrates (especially caterpillars, cicadas, and grasshoppers) and small vertebrates (particularly chameleons and geckos). Cuckoo-rollers forage mainly by sitting and waiting, making short sallying flights out to snatch prey.
Breeding
The scarce evidence available suggests that Cuckoo-rollers are monogamous with biparental care, and that breeding pairs may stay together for much of the year. Cuckoo-rollers nest in natural tree cavities, and the clutch of 4 or 5 eggs is laid directly on the cavity floor, without any further nest. The female alone, provisioned by the male, incubates the eggs throughout an incubation period of about 20 days. The chicks hatch with long white down, and both male and female feed them until they fledge at about 30 days post-hatch.
Conservation Status
There are no immediate conservation concerns for the Cuckoo-roller, a benefit, apparently, of its flexibility in adopting disturbed habitats.
Systematics History
Leptosomidae is a highly distinct avian lineage long thought to be closely related to the rollers and ground-rollers in Coraciiformes (Cracraft 1981, Sibley & Ahlquist 1990, Livezey & Zusi 2007). Recent morphological analyses (Mayr 2008) confirm its distinctness, and molecular studies place Leptosomidae outside Coraciiformes in the large higher-landbird clade (Ericson et al. 2006a), possibly as sister-lineage to the clade comprising Trogoniformes plus Coraciiformes, Piciformes, and Bucerotiformes (Hackett et al. 2008, Jarvis et al. 2014).
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
100%
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Near Threatened |
0%
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Vulnerable |
0%
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Endangered |
0%
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Critically Endangered |
0%
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Extinct in the Wild |
0%
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Extinct |
0%
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Not Evaluated |
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Data Deficient |
0%
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Unknown |
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Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information
Related families
Leptosomidae is sequentially sister to a large land-bird radiation, including Trogonidae, Bucerotiformes, Coraciiformes, and Piciformes