Brachypteracias leptosomus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The short-legged ground roller (Brachypteracias leptosomus) is a species of bird in the ground roller family Brachypteraciidae. It is the only living species in the genus Brachypteracias and is endemic to Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The short-legged ground roller is the only extant species in the genus Brachypteracias, although a fossil species, Brachypteracias langrandi, has been described. The short-legged ground roller is more arboreal than other ground rollers, and may represent the ancestral form of the family. The genus Brachypteracias once included the scaly ground roller, but a 2001 study of the DNA of the family found that the two are not closely related. The same study found that the short-legged ground roller is basal in the family.
The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek brakhupteros for short-winged. The species name leptosomus is also of Greek origin, and is derived from leptos for delicate and sōma for body. The short-legged ground roller is endemic to Madagascar, where it is present in the northern part of the island through the eastern coast, to the southern end of the island.... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Short-legged Ground Roller sighting in Ranomafana National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Short-legged Ground Roller in Ranomafana National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Ranomafana National Park's driest months, with about 110 mm of rain against 450 mm in January. January and June have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Short-legged Ground Roller sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Short-legged Ground Roller sightings, Ranomafana National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 40%).
Same family: Brachypteraciidae
The closest relatives of the Short-legged Ground Roller that you can see in Ranomafana National Park (family Brachypteraciidae, Ground-Rollers) are Pitta-like Ground Roller (about 60%), Rufous-headed Ground Roller (about 30%) and Scaly Ground Roller (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Short-legged Ground Roller is recorded against all the birds logged in Ranomafana National Park (26 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.
