CreatureData

Cuckoo-roller

Leptosomus discolor (Hermann, 1783)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor) is a species in the family Leptosomidae, order Leptosomiformes. Recorded adults weigh 255 g to 260.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor)
Photo: Brian Ralphs from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cuckoo-roller

Weight
255 g – 260.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the cuckoo-roller live?

Not recorded

What is the cuckoo-roller?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The cuckoo-roller or courol (Leptosomus discolor) is the only bird in the family Leptosomidae , which was previously often placed in the order Coraciiformes but is now placed in its own order Leptosomiformes. The cuckoo-roller is at the root of a group that contains the Trogoniformes, Bucerotiformes, Piciformes, and Coraciiformes. Despite its name, the cuckoo-roller does not share close evolutionary origins with cuckoos or rollers, although for long it was counted among the closer relatives of the latter.

It is a medium-large bird, inhabiting forests and woodlands in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Three subspecies are described: the nominate L. d. discolor is found in Madagascar and Mayotte Island, L. d. intermedius on Anjouan, and L. d. gracilis of Grande Comore. Based on its smaller size, differences in the plumage, and minor difference in the voice, the last of these is sometimes considered a separate species, the Comoros cuckoo-roller (L. gracilis).

From the Wikipedia article “Cuckoo-roller” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cuckoo-roller&oldid=1380816531), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cuckoo-roller endangered?

The cuckoo-roller is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the cuckoo-roller classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderLeptosomiformes
  5. familyLeptosomidae
  6. genusLeptosomus
  7. SpeciesLeptosomus discolor (Hermann, 1783)
Other names and names in other languages (32)
  • Cuckoo rollerEnglish
  • CUROEnglish
  • وقواق شقراقيArabic
  • وقواق الأسطوانةArabic
  • kurol madagaskarskýCzech
  • cwrolWelsh
  • GøgeellekrageDanish
  • KuckucksrollerGerman
  • kuroloEsperanto
  • Carraca curolSpanish
  • kuroliFinnish
  • CourolFrench
  • Courol vouroudriouFrench
  • Kukavičja modrivranaCroatian
  • madagaskarska zlatovranaCroatian
  • CurolItalian
  • Curol del MadagascarItalian
  • オオブッポウソウJapanese
  • kurolasLithuanian
  • KiromboMalagasy
  • VorondreoMalagasy
  • Кукавичка модровранаMacedonian
  • KoerolDutch
  • rolieiro-cucoPortuguese
  • rolieiro-courolPortuguese
  • КуролRussian
  • kurol kukučíSlovak
  • Kukavičja zlatovranaSerbian
  • KurolTurkish
  • кіромбоUkrainian
  • 鵑鴗Chinese
  • 鹃三宝鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cuckoo-roller

Other species in the same class Aves.

LC, Least Concern
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Anatidae

CompareCuckoo-roller vs Common ostrichCuckoo-roller vs House sparrowCuckoo-roller vs Common ravenCuckoo-roller vs Mallard

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cuckoo-roller?

An adult cuckoo-roller weighs 255 g – 260.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cuckoo-roller endangered?

The cuckoo-roller is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the cuckoo-roller?

The cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor) belongs to the family Leptosomidae in the order Leptosomiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cuckoo-roller

MLA

“Cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cuckoo-roller.

BibTeX
@misc{cuckoo_roller_2026,
  title = {Cuckoo-roller (Leptosomus discolor)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cuckoo-roller},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}