Scaly ground roller
Geobiastes squamiger (Lafresnaye, 1838)
The scaly ground roller (Geobiastes squamiger) is a species in the family Brachypteraciidae, order Coraciiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 155 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
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Quick facts about the scaly ground roller
- Weight
- 155 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
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the scaly ground roller live?
Not recorded
What is the scaly ground roller?
The scaly ground roller (Geobiastes squamiger) is a species of bird in a monotypic genus in the family Brachypteraciidae. It is endemic to eastern Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. The scaly ground roller is found at elevations below 1,000 meters (3,300 ft), and one of the few birds of Madagascar to reside in lowland rainforest.
From the Wikipedia article “Scaly ground roller” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scaly_ground_roller&oldid=1377429907), 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 scaly ground roller endangered?
The scaly ground roller is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the scaly ground roller classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyBrachypteraciidae
- genusGeobiastes
- SpeciesGeobiastes squamiger (Lafresnaye, 1838)
Synonyms Brachypteracias squamiger, Brachypteracias squamigera, Brachypteracias squamigera squamigera, Brachypteracias squamigera squamigera
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- Scaled ground rollerEnglish
- Scaled ground rollerEnglish
- Scaled ground-rollerEnglish
- Scaled ground-rollerEnglish
- Scaly ground-rollerEnglish
- Scaly ground-rollerEnglish
- Scaly ground-rollerEnglish
- شقراق الأرض المحرشفArabic
- Люспеста земна синявицаBulgarian
- gaig terrestre escatósCatalan
- kurolec šupinkovýCzech
- Skællet EllekrageDanish
- SchuppenerdrackeGerman
- skvama grundokoracioEsperanto
- Carraca terrestre escamosaSpanish
- soomus-maaraagEstonian
- suomumarhiFinnish
- Brachyptérolle écailléFrench
- Brachyptérolle écailleuxFrench
- ljuskasta zlatovranaCroatian
- pikkelyes földiszalakótaHungarian
- Coracia terragnola squamataItalian
- ウロコジブッポウソウJapanese
- žvynuotasis dirvinis žalvarnisLithuanian
- Geschubde GrondscharrelaarDutch
- skjellmarkråkeNorwegian
- ziemnokraska łuskowanaPolish
- Brachypteracias squamigeraPortuguese
- rolieiro-da-terra-escamosoPortuguese
- rolieiro-terrestre-escamosoPortuguese
- Чешуйчатая земляная ракшаRussian
- krakľovec šupinatýSlovak
- luskovrankaSlovenian
- Ljuskasta modrovrana sa tlaSerbian
- fjällig markblåkråkaSwedish
- นกกราวนด์โรลเลอร์ลายThai
- Pullu YerkuzgunuTurkish
- підкіпка чорновусаUkrainian
- 鱗斑地寶鳥Chinese
- 鳞斑地三宝鸟Chinese
Relatives of the scaly ground roller
Other species in the same family Brachypteraciidae.

Long-tailed ground roller
Uratelornis chimaera

Pitta-like ground roller
Atelornis pittoides

Short-legged ground roller
Brachypteracias leptosomus
Rufous-headed ground roller
Atelornis crossleyi
CompareScaly ground roller vs Long-tailed ground rollerScaly ground roller vs Pitta-like ground rollerScaly ground roller vs Short-legged ground rollerScaly ground roller vs Rufous-headed ground roller
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the scaly ground roller?
An adult scaly ground roller weighs 155 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the scaly ground roller endangered?
The scaly ground roller is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the scaly ground roller?
The scaly ground roller (Geobiastes squamiger) belongs to the family Brachypteraciidae in the order Coraciiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Scaly ground roller (Geobiastes squamiger). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-ground-roller
“Scaly ground roller (Geobiastes squamiger).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-ground-roller.
@misc{scaly_ground_roller_2026,
title = {Scaly ground roller (Geobiastes squamiger)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-ground-roller},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}