White-breasted Mesite
Mesitornis variegatus
Odd ground-dwelling bird that is rarely seen by those not looking for it. Brown upperparts, pale underparts, and elaborately striped head. Usually seen in pairs or family groups, walking on the forest floor. Defense behavior is to fly into a tree and freeze. Patchily distributed, mainly in western dry forest, but locally also in rainforest. Call is an incredibly loud and strident mix of clear “whee” notes and fast chuckling notes, usually given in duet by a pair. Can be separated from other mesites by range. Walks on the ground like Madagascar Buttonquail, but much larger and longer-tailed. Could be confused with White-throated Rail, but shorter and slimmer, longer-tailed, with pale underparts. Also slimmer, longer-tailed, and more elaborately patterned than a wood-rail.
识别特征
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.
分类信息
- 学名
- Mesitornis variegatus
- 命名信息
- (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I, 1838)
- 目
- Mesitornithiformes
- 科
- Mesitornithidae
- 属
- Mesitornis
分布与栖息地
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.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The white-breasted mesite is a forest species; living in groups of two to four individuals which can be seen resting, or feeding on the ground during the day. The brown upper plumage provides camouflage while the bird forage on the forest floor, flicking over leaf-litter to find invertebrates. Diet includes beetles, centipedes, cockroaches, crickets, flies, moths, spiders, and also seeds. Egg-laying mainly takes place from November to January with one to three white eggs with rust-coloured spots. The nests are a simple structure of interwoven twigs, within vegetation, and close to the ground.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Cape Griffon
Gyps coprotheres
Overall the Cape Griffon is creamy-white, much paler and larger than the White-backed Vulture. At close range, the adult’s eyes are honey-colored, and there is a speckled stripe along the middle of the wing. They nest in small to large colonies in hills and mountains but will fly hundreds of kilometers to forage. The similar White-backed Vulture is smaller and darker with a wing that is more contrasting between flight feathers and the remainder of the underwing; at close range its dark eyes are visible.
Collared Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula mullerii
The large, nomadic pigeon of mangroves and riverine forests. Note the distinctive, full black collar that narrows at the front and meets the maroon back. Black tail with white band across. Small flocks often seen in flight or perched up on exposed branches. Unmistakable when seen perched, but in flight similar to Pinon’s Imperial-Pigeon. Collared Imperial-Pigeon is much more likely in mangroves. Call, a deep, muffled “woo-oo pooo” with the first 2-note call falling and the last, lower in pitch.
White-headed Sawwing
Psalidoprocne albiceps
A small, fork-tailed, sooty-brown swallow with different plumages for the sexes: distinctive male has a pure white head and narrow black eye stripe; female has a mostly ashy head with white throat. Immature lacks white on the head. Pairs use clearings and edges of evergreen forest, open woodland, and cultivation. Resident in East Africa, but an intra-African breeding migrant in Zambia and Malawi between October and May. Superficially more similar to swifts than other swallows. Note the differences in flight style: flightier with deep wing beats and rapid changes of direction, as opposed to the more stiff-winged flight of swifts.
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