Subdesert Mesite
Encyclopedia
The Subdesert Mesite is a ground-dwelling bird
endemic
to Madagascar
. It is one of three species in the mesite
family
Mesitornithidae, and is restricted in distribution to a small low-land region in southwest Madagascar.
The Subdesert Mesite is a medium sized terrestrial bird which is often described as rail
-like (a family with which the mesites are sometimes placed). The species has a long and downward-curved bill
distinguishing it from the other members of the family. Both sexes are greyish above and show thin white eyebrows. Both have white underparts; the male has black crescent-shaped spots on the side of the neck and upper breast. The female has rufous spots that may merge into a general rufous tone, and has a tawny cheek patch.
The Subdesert Mesite is restricted to spiny thicket
with open areas from sea-level to 130 meters. It forages by picking invertebrates, seeds and fruit off the ground and may dig into the surface.
The birds nests are exposed platforms of twigs built in a bush within 2 meters of the ground. One or two eggs are laid. Incubation and care of the young is shared by both sexes. They may be polyandrous or polygynous.
The population of this species may be dense within its extremely restricted geographic range. It is vulnerable from habitat degradation, predators, hunting, lack of official protection and very restricted range.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. It is one of three species in the mesite
Mesite
The mesites are a family of birds of uncertain affinities. They are smallish, near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. Generally brownish with paler undersides, they are of somewhat pheasant-like appearance and were initially placed with the Galliformes...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Mesitornithidae, and is restricted in distribution to a small low-land region in southwest Madagascar.
The Subdesert Mesite is a medium sized terrestrial bird which is often described as rail
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
-like (a family with which the mesites are sometimes placed). The species has a long and downward-curved bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
distinguishing it from the other members of the family. Both sexes are greyish above and show thin white eyebrows. Both have white underparts; the male has black crescent-shaped spots on the side of the neck and upper breast. The female has rufous spots that may merge into a general rufous tone, and has a tawny cheek patch.
The Subdesert Mesite is restricted to spiny thicket
Madagascar spiny thickets
The Madagascar spiny thickets is an ecoregion in Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. An estimated 14,000 to is covered with this habitat, all in the southwest of the country...
with open areas from sea-level to 130 meters. It forages by picking invertebrates, seeds and fruit off the ground and may dig into the surface.
The birds nests are exposed platforms of twigs built in a bush within 2 meters of the ground. One or two eggs are laid. Incubation and care of the young is shared by both sexes. They may be polyandrous or polygynous.
The population of this species may be dense within its extremely restricted geographic range. It is vulnerable from habitat degradation, predators, hunting, lack of official protection and very restricted range.