Brown Mesite
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| Brown Mesite | ||||||||||||||
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| Mesitornis unicolor (Des Murs, 1845) |
The Brown Mesite, Mesitornis unicolor, is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. It is one of three species in the mesite family Mesitornithidae, and though vulnerable, it is the most widespread of the three.
The Brown 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 plain face, marked only by a slightly contrasting fleshy eyering 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 rufus brown, the underside tawny with no barring or spotting.
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. The preferred habitat is undisturbed deciduous forest from sea-level up to 1100 meters.
The population of this species is patchily distributed, and the population is vulnerable for preferring lower elevation forests which are under the greatest pressure from human disturbance. It is sensitive to disturbance and its forest home is threatened by logging and forest fires.
[edit] References
- Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume Three, Hoatzin to Auks; de Hoyo, Elliot and Sargatal, ISBN 84-87334-20-2
