Atelornis pittoides
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The pitta-like ground roller (Atelornis pittoides) is a species of bird in the ground roller family Brachypteraciidae. The species is monotypic, having no subspecies. It is endemic to Madagascar. The species was described by Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1834. The specific name pittoides is a reference to its resemblance to the pittas, an unrelated family of passerine birds.
The pitta-like ground roller is a small and slender member of the family, 25 to 29 cm (9.8–11.4 in) long and weighing 74–114 g (2.6–4.0 oz). It has a cobalt-blue head with a black mask and a white supercilium and throat, which is bordered in blue. The upperparts are bronzy green and the belly is white with buff flanks, and the breast and back have a rufous band.
The pitta-like ground roller is endemic to the eastern half of Madagascar, from the extreme north to the southern edge, and has the widest distribution of any member of the family. It also has a wider range of habitats that it is prepared to occupy, being found in all natural rainforest types on the island from sea-level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft), although it is commonest between 800–1,600 m (2,600–5,200 ft). It can...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 3 | Montagne d'Ambre National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pitta-like Ground Roller sighting in Montagne d'Ambre National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 30 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pitta-like Ground Roller sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Pitta-like Ground Roller sightings, Montagne d'Ambre National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 60%) and Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 30%).
Same order: Coraciiformes
The closest relatives of the Pitta-like Ground Roller that you can see in Montagne d'Ambre National Park (order Coraciiformes, Rollers, Kingfishers, and Allies) are Malagasy Kingfisher (about 40%), Madagascar Pygmy-Kingfisher (about 20%) and Broad-billed Roller (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pitta-like Ground Roller is recorded against all the birds logged in Montagne d'Ambre National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
