White-breasted mesite: Difference between revisions

| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{IUCNcite iucn |idauthor=22692949BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Mesitornis variegatus'' |assessorvolume=BirdLife International2018 |assessor-linkpage=BirdLife Internationale.T22692949A129882359 |versiondoi=201310.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22692949A129882359.en |year=2012 |accessdateaccess-date=2612 November 20132021}}</ref>

| authority = ([[Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I]], 1838)

The '''white-breasted mesite''' ('''''Mesitornis variegatus''''') is a ground-dwelling [[bird]] [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to [[Madagascar]]. One of three species in the [[mesite]] [[family (biology)|family]], Mesitornithidae, it is classified as [[Vulnerable species|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.

The white-breasted mesite is a medium-sized terrestrial bird which is often described as [[Rallidae|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 [[beak|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.<ref name="arkive">{{cite web|title=White-breasted mesite (Mesitornis variegatus)|url=http://www.arkive.org/white-breasted-mesite/mesitornis-variegatus/#src=portletV3api|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114073805/http://www.arkive.org/white-breasted-mesite/mesitornis-variegatus/#src=portletV3api|dead-url-status=yesdead|archive-date=14 November 2010|website=ARKive|accessdateaccess-date=16 October 2016}}</ref>

The preferred habitat is undisturbed [[deciduous forest]] and the bird has a restricted distribution on five sites in the north and west of Madagascar, as well as one in the east, [[Ambatovaky Reserve]]. The northern and western sites are [[Analamerana Reserve]], [[Ankarafantsika National Park]], [[Ankarana Special Reserve]], [[Daraina forests]] and [[Menabe forest]].<ref>{{cite web|title=White-breasted Mesite Mesitornis variegatus|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22692949|website=BirdLife International|accessdateaccess-date=16 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="iucn">{{cite web|title=Mesitornisstatus variegatus|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/22692949/0|website=IUCN|accessdate=1612 OctoberNovember 2021" 2016}}</ref>

The population of this species is declining and is projected to continue doing so. It is sensitive to disturbance, and its forest home is threatened by [[logging]] and [[forest fire]]s. It is also subject to hunting pressure. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the conservation status of this bird as ″vulnerable″.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

[[Category:Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|white-breasted mesite]]