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Mesite
The mesites (Mesitornithidae) are a family of birds that are part of a clade ( Columbimorphae) that include Columbiformes and Pterocliformes. They are smallish flightless or near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. They are the only family with more than two species in which every species is threatened (all three are listed as vulnerable). Description The mesites are forest and scrubland birds that feed on insects and seeds. The brown and white-breasted mesites forage on the ground, gleaning insects from the leaves and under them, as well as low vegetation. The subdesert mesite uses its long bill to probe in the soil. Other birds, such as drongos and flycatchers, will follow mesites to catch any insects they flush and miss. Mesites are vocal birds, with calls similar to passerine song, used for territorial defence. Two or three white eggs are laid in a stick-nest located in a bush or low branch. The ''Mesitornis'' species are monogamous while ''Monias benschi'' is polygamo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesitornis
''Mesitornis'' is a genus of birds in the family Mesitornithidae. Its two members. the white-breasted mesite and the brown mesite are endemic to Madagascar and both species are classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of Threatened species. A third species is also called a mesite; the subdesert mesite is the single member of the genus ''Monias''. Species ''Mesitornis'' There are two species, the brown mesite (''Mesitornis unicolor'') and the white-breasted mesite The white-breasted mesite (''Mesitornis variegatus'') is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. One of three species in the mesite family, Mesitornithidae, it is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of N ... (''Mesitornis variegatus''). They are medium-sized birds to respectively and are considered to look like the rails; a family (Rallidae) in which the mesites are sometimes placed. Both species are ground ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subdesert Mesite
The subdesert mesite (''Monias benschi'') 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. Description 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. Distribution and habitat The subdesert mesite is restricted to spiny thicket with open areas, from sea-level to an altitude of . It is restricted to the long, and wide, coastal strip between the Fiherenana r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-breasted Mesite
The white-breasted mesite (''Mesitornis variegatus'') is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. One of three species in the mesite family, Mesitornithidae, it is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has a small population and is restricted to five sites in the north and west of the island, and one in the east. Description The white-breasted 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 white face with distinctive facial markings (a white supercilium and dark malar stripes) and a short dark straight bill. The upperparts are rufous brown, the underside is white with a tawny chest band and a barred belly. The wings are short and rounded and the bird only flies a few metres when pursued. It has a melodic song and sings in the early morning and during the day. Ecology The white-breasted mesite is a forest species; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subdesert Mesite
The subdesert mesite (''Monias benschi'') 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. Description 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. Distribution and habitat The subdesert mesite is restricted to spiny thicket with open areas, from sea-level to an altitude of . It is restricted to the long, and wide, coastal strip between the Fiherenana r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-breasted Mesite
The white-breasted mesite (''Mesitornis variegatus'') is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. One of three species in the mesite family, Mesitornithidae, it is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has a small population and is restricted to five sites in the north and west of the island, and one in the east. Description The white-breasted 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 white face with distinctive facial markings (a white supercilium and dark malar stripes) and a short dark straight bill. The upperparts are rufous brown, the underside is white with a tawny chest band and a barred belly. The wings are short and rounded and the bird only flies a few metres when pursued. It has a melodic song and sings in the early morning and during the day. Ecology The white-breasted mesite is a forest species; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Mesite
The brown mesite (''Mesitornis unicolor'') is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. It is one of three species in the mesite family or the Mesitornithidae, and though classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is the most widespread of the three. Description This species 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 plain face, marked only by a slightly contrasting fleshy eye-ring around a rather large eye and a variable white streak behind the eye. It has a short straight bill. The upperparts of the bird are rufous brown, the underside tawny with no barring or spotting. Ecology The brown mesite is a humid forest species, it forages by walking through the forest floor flicking over leaf-litter in order to find invertebrates. Its rufous brown plumage provides reasonable camouflage on the shady forest floor. The preferred habi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbimorphae
Columbimorphae is a clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ... discovered by genome analysis that includes birds of the orders Columbiformes (pigeons and doves), Pterocliformes (sandgrouse), and Mesitornithiformes (mesites). Previous analyses had also recovered this grouping, although the exact relationships differed. Some studies indicated a sister relationship between sandgrouse and pigeons (the traditional view) while other studies favored a sister grouping of mesites and sandgrouse instead. References Neognathae {{bird-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterocliformes
Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as ''Syrrhaptes'' and the other fourteen species, from Africa and Asia, are placed in the genus '' Pterocles''. They are ground dwelling birds restricted to treeless, open country, such as plains, savannahs, and semi-deserts. They are distributed across northern, southern, and eastern Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, and India through central Asia. The ranges of the black-bellied sandgrouse and the pin-tailed sandgrouse even extend into the Iberian Peninsula and France, and Pallas's sandgrouse occasionally breaks out in large numbers from its normal range in Asia. Description Sandgrouse have small, pigeon-like heads and necks and sturdy compact bodies. They range in size from in length and from in weight. The adults are sexually dimorphic with the males being s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and terrestrial bird families that did not seem to belong to any other order were classified together as Gruiformes. These include 14 species of large cranes, about 145 species of smaller crakes and rails, as well as a variety of families comprising one to three species, such as the Heliornithidae, the limpkin, or the Psophiidae. Other birds have been placed in this order more out of necessity to place them ''somewhere''; this has caused the expanded Gruiformes to lack distinctive apomorphies. Recent studies indicate that these "odd Gruiformes" are if at all only loosely related to the cranes, rails, and relatives ("core Gruiformes"). Systematics There are only two suprafamilial clades (natural groups) among the birds traditionally classified as Gruiformes. Rails (Rallidae), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Mesite
The brown mesite (''Mesitornis unicolor'') is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. It is one of three species in the mesite family or the Mesitornithidae, and though classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is the most widespread of the three. Description This species 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 plain face, marked only by a slightly contrasting fleshy eye-ring around a rather large eye and a variable white streak behind the eye. It has a short straight bill. The upperparts of the bird are rufous brown, the underside tawny with no barring or spotting. Ecology The brown mesite is a humid forest species, it forages by walking through the forest floor flicking over leaf-litter in order to find invertebrates. Its rufous brown plumage provides reasonable camouflage on the shady forest floor. The preferred habi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
