Mesite
Family of birds
title: "Mesite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mesitornithidae", "taxa-named-by-alexander-wetmore", "endemic-birds-of-madagascar"] description: "Family of birds" topic_path: "general/mesitornithidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Family of birds ::
| name = Mesites | taxon = Mesitornithidae | image = Subdesert Mesite.jpg | image_caption = Subdesert mesite (Monias benschi) | display_parents = 2 | parent_authority = Wetmore, 1960 | authority = Wetmore, 1960 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision =
- Mesitornis
- Monias | range_map = Madagaskar-mesites-06.jpg | range_map_upright = 0.8 | range_map_caption = Respective ranges: brown mesite in orange, white-breasted mesite in green and subdesert mesite in blue
The mesites (Mesitornithidae) are a family of birds that are part of a clade (Columbimorphae) that includes Columbiformes and Pterocliformes. They are somewhat small-bodied, flightless or near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. All the species of this clade are listed as vulnerable.
Description
The mesites are forest and scrubland birds that feed on insects and seeds; brown and white-breasted mesites forage on the ground, gleaning insects from underneath leaves 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 out or miss. Mesites are vocal birds, with calls similar to that of a passerine's song, which are used for territorial defence. Two or three white eggs are laid in a stick-built nest located in a bush or on a low branch. The Mesitornis species are monogamous while Monias benschi is polygamous and, unlike the other two, shows significant sexual dichromatism.
Systematics
There are two genera, Mesitornis (2 species) and Monias (subdesert mesite).
::data[format=table]
| Image | Genus | Species |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:Subdesert Mesite.jpg | 175px]] | Monias Oustalet & Grandidier, 1903 |
| [[File:White-breasted Mesite - Ankarafantsika - Madagascar S4E9441 (15297364032).jpg | 175px]] | Mesitornis Bonaparte, 1855 [Mesites Geoffroy, 1838 non Schoenherr, 1838; Mesoenas Reichenbach, 1861] |
| :: |
Historically, mesites' phylogenetic relationships were not very clear; they have been allied (claded) with the Gruiformes, Turniciformes and Columbiformes.
Some phylogenomic studies support Pterocliformes (sandgrouse) as the sister group of mesites while others place this clade with another clade constituted of Columbiformes and Cuculiformes (cuckoos).
|caption=Phylogenetic relationship of the mesites within Neoaves according to Stiller and colleagues (2024). |align=center |cladogram={{Clade| style=font-size:90%;line-height:80%;width:420px; |1={{clade |1=Columbiformes (pigeons) |2={{clade |1=Pterocliformes (sandgrouses) |2=Mesitornithiformes (mesites)
References
References
- (2014). "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds". Science.
- Archibald, George W.. (1991). "Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds". Merehurst Press.
- (2014). "Delayed juvenile dispersal and monogamy, but no cooperative breeding in white-breasted mesites (Mesitornis variegatus)". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
- "''IOC Names File Plus 6.3''".
- "Part 7- Vertebrates".
- Sibley, Charles. (1990). "Phylogeny and classification of birds". Yale University Press.
- (January 2007). "Higher-order phylogeny of modern birds (Theropoda, Aves: Neornithes) based on comparative anatomy. II. Analysis and discussion". [[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]].
- (2008). "A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History". Science.
- (2004). "Parallel radiations in the primary clades of birds". [[Evolution (journal).
- (2013). "Parsimony and Model-Based Analyses of Indels in Avian Nuclear Genes Reveal Congruent and Incongruent Phylogenetic Signals". Biology.
- H Kuhl, C Frankl-Vilches, A Bakker, G Mayr, G Nikolaus, S T Boerno, S Klages, B Timmermann, M Gahr (2020) [https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-article/doi/10.1093/molbev/msaa191/5891114 An unbiased molecular approach using 3’UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life]. ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'', https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa191
- (2024). "Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes". Nature.
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