Bensch's Mesite

Subdesert mesites are medium-sized birds ranging from 30-32 cm in length. Monias benschi have white heads and throats, with black stripes. Both males and females have dark, long, curved bills with a red base. The adult male has a white breast with black crescents. Their short rounded wings and long tails are brown-grey. The male also has a reddish iris, along with red feet and legs. The female subdesert mesite differs from the male in appearance only in that she has profound dark spotting on her breast and wings and an orange iris. The young are very similar to the adults, they have pinkish legs and feet and usually have a slightly browner breast. Seasonal variation has not been reported.

(Collar and Stuart 1985; Langrand 1990; Morris and Hawkins 1998)

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Subdesert mesites occupy the dry spinney forests of southwestern Madagascar. Their habitat has minimal herbaceous growth with sandy soil, and includes areas that are well littered with leaves. Nevertheless, they are also able to live in open forests if shade and leaf litter occur. The subdesert mesite is restricted to its current habitat of Madagascar due to its inability to move across the Mangoky and Fiheranana rivers that surround its range. The subdesert mesite lives from sea level to 130 m above sea level.

(Del Hoyo et al. 1996; Morris and Hawkins 1998)

Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; chaparral

Monias benschi are endemic to Madagascar. The species occupies a strip of coastal land 70-80 km wide and 200 km long on the southwestern border between the Mangoky and Fiheranana rivers.

(Collar and Stuart 1985; Morris and Hawkins 1998)

Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )

Monias benschi use their long curved bills to peck and dig into the leaf-covered soil as they feed mostly on invertebrates including cockroaches, grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles and millipedes. Their diet also consists of seeds and small fruits.

(Del Hoyo et al. 1996; Morris and Hawkins 1998)

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Monias benschi are classified as globally threatened. The bird is threatened mainly by the rapid rate of habitat loss and the destruction of the forests to which they are restricted. The subdesert mesite's small range makes them especially threatened by environmental pressures that are applied by the Madagascar subsistence agriculture. Other environmental pressures are produced by commercial exploitation for charcoal and timber. They are also in danger as a result of neighboring villagers hunting and trapping them, and face dangers enforced by predators, mainly dogs. The range of the subdesert mesite does not include any protected areas.

(Collar and Stuart 1985; Del Hoyo et al. 1996; Morris and Hawkins 1998)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable

As an endemic species with distinctive terrestrial habits and vulnerable status, M. benschi attract bird watchers and other naturalists, creating needed revenue for Madagascar.

(Morris and Hawkins 1998)

Egg development occurs in the months of December and January. The eggs are laid by the female between October and April. Little else is known about their basic reproductive biology. Both the male and female incubate the developing eggs, also sharing the responsibilities of feeding and caring for the young. Breeding occurs in the rainy season, and different females have been found to lay eggs in the same nest.

(Del Hoyo et al. 1996)

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous

This terrestrial bird moves around in groups of three to six, sometimes as many as ten, individuals. As they walk around together, sometimes deliberately with their heads moving forward and backwards, sometimes rapidly and constantly changing direction, they frequently stop to probe patches of bare sandy soil with their bill (2), or rummage in leaf litter (4). The subdesert mesite feeds on invertebrates, as well as small fruits and seeds (2), and may dig below the soil surface to find a meal, leaving characteristic dimples in the ground (3). If alarmed or threatened, the group remains close as they run swiftly away, or a bird may fly to perch on a branch to escape danger (2). The only other time this bird is observed flying is to reach a roost site or nest (4), which are situated in bushes or trees a few metres off the ground (2). The nest of the subdesert mesite is a simple, shallow platform of a few interwoven twigs with leaves and bark (2) (3). Nesting occurs between November and January (2) (3), when a clutch of one to two whitish eggs, speckled with brown and grey, are laid (2). Both the male and female share in the tasks of incubation, feeding and caring for the young (3).

Unfortunately, no protected areas occur within the range of the subdesert mesite and there are no known conservation measures in place (3). While there are large areas that have few human inhabitants (3), and therefore presumably remain more intact, the spiny forests of south-west Madagascar are in great need of some protection (4); a measure which will benefit the subdesert mesite and the other species of this coastal habitat

Mesites, a family of terrestrial birds found only in Madagascar, are considered primitive forms of the rail (2). The subdesert mesite, named after its habitat, has greyish-brown plumage on the back, and white underparts with distinctive black spotting (2) (3). The greyish-brown head has a long, thin, white stripe over the eye (3), and the downward-curved bill is red with a black tip (2). The female subdesert mesite differs from the male by the bold, reddish-brown markings on the white chin, throat and chest. Juveniles have more subdued plumage and the tail is shorter than the long, layered tail of the adults (2).

The subdesert mesite inhabits dry thicket and spiny forest on sandy soil (3) (4), with an abundance of dead leaf litter (2). It occurs at elevations from sea-level up to 130 metres, and is believed to tolerate disturbed or degraded habitat, but avoids areas which lack any shade (3).

Endemic to Madagascar, the subdesert mesite occurs only in a narrow coastal strip in the south-west, lying between the River Mangoky to the north and the River Fiherenana to the south. This strip measures 200 kilometres long, 30 to 60 kilometres wide (4), and is bordered by the coast on the west and the start of the hills on the east (3).

Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1).

The most significant threat to this Vulnerable bird is the destruction of its habitat. The area of spiny forest in this region declined by 15.6 per cent between 1962 and 1999 overall, but by around 28 per cent in the eastern part of the species' range. The forest is cleared for crops, charcoal production, grazing by goats, and for timber (3) (4). Furthermore, the subdesert mesite is also impacted by predation by rats and dogs (4) (3), and hunters occasionally take adult birds from their nests (3).

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.