The Cuckoo-roller is the only member of the family Leptosomatidae. The placement of this family in the Coraciiformes is in dispute. However, as it is placed there in the 6th edition of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, I will leave it here for now.
The Cuckoo-roller lives in Madagascar and the nearby Comoros Islands. It apparently lives primarily on insects and lizards including geckos and chameleons.
Classification:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Leptosomatidae
Genus: Leptosomus
Species: L. discolor
Photos:
Cuckoo Roller in zoo
"Tsimbazaza zoo in Tana"
Photo courtesy of pinebird
Cuckoo-roller
"A male Cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor). Isalo National Park, Madagascar. Endemic to Madagascar."
Photo courtesy of David Thyberg
koekoek
Photo courtesy of belgianchocolate
Madagascar Cuckoo Roller
Photo courtesy of Black Drongo
Video:
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any video of this species to share here. If you know of one, please leave a comment with a link.
Commentary:
Cuckoo-Roller Common Sunbird-asity Ashy Cuckoo-shrike Spectacled Greenbul Chabert’s Vanga Forest Rock Thrush (Near-threatened) Madagascar Magpie-Robin Common Stonechat Madagascar Swamp Warble… Read more…
this is a cuckoo roller. it can be found in the perinet reserve. anna, megan, and i wake up at 7 in the morning to be ready to get a car ride from the hotel colbert to the reserve of perinet. t… Read more…
The Lord Geekington: Vulture Mimics: An Introduction to Cathartids
It appears to be a probable leptosomid (cuckoo-roller). See the following reference: Gerald Mayr: A new species of Plesiocathartes (Aves: ?Leptosomidae) from the Middle Eocene of Messel, German… Read more…
birds at the perinet reserve include the blue coua, red-fronted coua, blue vanga, red-tailed vanga, velvet asity, sunbird asity, pitta-like ground roller, short-legged ground roller, brown mesite, col… Read more…
the madagascar cuckoo-roller. we heard this really loud, distinctive bird call out the back of our lodge, so when we checked it out, this is what we found. by no means was this an uncommon bird… Read more…
