Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"

We're almost done with the unique birds of Madagascar! Our second-to-last species to be featured, is the Cuckoo-Roller, Leptosomus discolor. It occurs all over the island and also on the nearby Comoro Islands. One form that is found on the island of Anjouan is sometimes considered a separate species, otherwise included as a subspecies. The genus name means 'light/delicate-bodied', a bit of a misnomer for this stout and strong bird, while the species name means 'different-coloured', relating to the differences in the plumages of the male and female. The female, on the left in my picture, has a rufous-brown plumage with black spots below and greenish bars on the wings and back, while the male is greyish with iridescent purple-to-green wings, back and tail. Cuckoo-rollers reach an overall length of 50 cm/20" and a weight of at least 270g/0.6 lb.

The uniqueness of the cuckoo-roller is already suggested by its name. If you've been following this column, you'll know I've featured both a few species of cuckoos as well as of rollers here. They're quite different birds. The cuckoo-roller has caused confusion and was actually first classified as a cuckoo. It has a cuckoo-like foot, with two toes facing forwards and two facing backwards as it perches. All the rollers have the more typical bird arrangement of three toes forward and one back. Some studies suggested that the cuckoo-roller is at least closer to rollers than to cuckoos, but at present it is considered to be unique enough to warrant not just its own family, the Leptosomidae, but its own order, the Leptosomiformes. It is the only species in the family and order that still survives (or two species, if the separate classification of the Anjouan cuckoo-roller is recognized).

The cuckoo-roller can be recognized by its shape alone. It has a very large head, mainly due to having big, puffy feathers, including soft feathers growing forward and upward from just in front of its eye, and a somewhat shaggy crest at the back of its head. Its eye appears to be set far backwards in its head. It has a sleeker body, with long, narrow wings and a medium-long tail. The bill is stout and has a hooked tip, and the legs and feet are short and small. It has a slow but easy, swooping or undulating flight style. These birds occur mostly in pairs or in family groups.

The favoured habitat of cuckoo-rollers is forest of all types, from the dry, spiny forests of the southwest, to the moist rainforest of the east. They also occur in open parkland or in cultivated fields. They spend most of their time perched motionless high up in a tree, from where they sally out to capture their prey with their bills. They usually eat invertebrates, primarily caterpillars, grasshoppers and beetles. Another interesting link with cuckoos is their predilection towards eating caterpillars with stinging hairs, which are avoided by most other birds. They also eat small vertebrates, primarily geckoes and chameleons.

Due to their habit of perching high up in trees, cuckoo-rollers are not easily spotted, but they give themselves away by their characteristic call, mostly given in flight. This is a liquid whistle, 'whee-oo, whee-oo' or 'dree-oo, dree-oo', repeated many times, sometimes ending in a harsh 'wha-ha-ha-ha'. Other, less frequently-heard and rather soft calls are described as a descending 'kriuuu', a plaintive 'troo' and 'hiyer'. Often there are several male birds that call and fly together; this may be directed to females, and could thus be courtship calls, or may be for proclaiming territories.

For breeding, cuckoo-rollers are dependent on large trees. They breed in the southern-hemisphere summer, from September to December. They appear to be monogamous. The nest is situated in a large cavity in a tree, typically 4 to 6 m/13'-20' above ground level. It is not adorned in any way, the female laying her four or five eggs directly on the cavity floor. The female seems to incubate them alone. She also feeds the chicks once they've hatched, though it's possible that the male helps her by catching prey and then delivering it to her so she can give it to the chicks. The nest becomes foul-smelling as the droppings of the chicks accumulate. When disturbed, the chicks give an owl-like bowing, gaping and bill-snapping display. They are vulnerable to predators such as Fossas, lemurs, snakes and harrier-hawks, the latter being specialized for taking chicks and eggs from nest-holes.

It is fortunate that this unique bird species is not threatened at the moment. Many ethnic groups in Madagascar see it as a bird of good omen: its calls when heard are considered harbingers of good weather, amidst periods of storms and heavy rains. It is also considered a bird of love, because of the close relationship between males and females. On the negative side, some people use body parts of cuckoo rollers for a variety of medicinal purposes, and others believe that if one flies over a house, someone inside will die. Mainly, though, cuckoo-rollers depend on the preservation of forests in Madagascar. Though they are very adaptable to human-changed environments, they need suitable big nesting trees. Generally, the protection of the Madagascan forests will benefit this and many other unique and amazing species.

Willem

14.08.23 Front Page

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