Broad-billed Roller
Eurystomus glaucurus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCoraciiformes (Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies)
- FamilyCoraciidae (Rollers)
- GenusEurystomus (Broad-billed Rollers and Dollarbirds)
- SpeciesEurystomus glaucurus (Broad-billed Roller)
About the Broad-billed Roller
The broad-billed roller (Eurystomus glaucurus) is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial belt in the dry season.
The broad-billed roller was formally described in 1776 by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller under the binomial name Coracias glaucurus. The specific epithet is from Ancient Greek glaukos meaning "blue-grey". Statius Müller based his brief description on "Le Rollier de Madagascar" that had been described in 1775 by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon and illustrated by Edme-Louis Daubenton. The type locality is Madagascar. The broad-billed roller is now placed in the genus Eurystomus that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the broad-billed roller was most closely related to the blue-throated roller (Eurystomus gularis). Alternate names for the broad-billed roller include the African broad-billed roller and the cinnamon... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Broad-billed Roller in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
European Roller
Coracias garrulus
Lilac-breasted Roller
Coracias caudatus
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Halcyon albiventris
Little Bee-eater
Merops pusillus
White-fronted Bee-eater
Merops bullockoides
Malachite Kingfisher
Corythornis cristatus
European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster
Pied Kingfisher
Ceryle rudis
Striped Kingfisher
Halcyon chelicuti
Half-collared Kingfisher
Alcedo semitorquata
Giant Kingfisher
Megaceryle maxima
African Pygmy-Kingfisher
Ispidina picta
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.