Blue-throated Roller

The blue-throated roller (Eurystomus gularis) is a species of roller in the family Coraciidae. It is native to the African tropical rainforest. == Taxonomy and systematics == The blue-throated roller was formally described in 1819 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot under its current binomial name Eurystomus gularis. The specific epithet gularis is Modern Latin meaning "-throated". Vieillot based his description on a specimen in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris which he mistaken believed had been collected in "Australasie"; the type locality has been designated as Senegal. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the blue-throated roller was most closely related to the broad-billed roller (Eurystomus glaucurus). Two subspecies are recognized: E. g. gularis - Vieillot, 1819: Found from Guinea to western Cameroon E. g. neglectus - Neumann, 1908: Found from south-eastern Nigeria and southern Cameroon to northern Angola and Uganda == Description == The blue-throated roller is a dumpy, large-headed, thick-necked bird that frequents the tops of trees. Overall, it is a dark bird, mainly chestnut brown with a bright yellow bill and a blue patch on the throat, a blue tail and purplish blue wings. The juvenile shows bluish on the underparts. It…