Mesite

 ( Taxa Named By Alexander Wetmore ) 

The mesites ( Mesitornithidae) are a family of that are part of a clade (Columbimorphae) that include Columbiformes and Pterocliformes. They are somewhat small-bodied, Flightless bird endemic to Madagascar. All the species of this clade are listed as vulnerable.

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Description The mesites are forest and scrubland birds that Insectivore and Seed predation; brown and white-breasted mesites Foraging on the ground, gleaning insects from underneath leaf litter as well as low vegetation. The subdesert mesite uses its long bill to probe in the soil. Other birds, such as 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.

Archibald, George W. (1991). 9781853911866, Merehurst Press. ISBN 9781853911866

The Mesitornis species are monogamous while Monias benschi is polygamous and, unlike the other two, shows significant sexual dichromatism.

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Systematics There are two genera, Mesitornis (2 species) and Monias (subdesert mesite).IOC World Bird List v6.3 [1].

	Monias Oustalet & Grandidier, 1903	Subdesert mesite Monias benschi Oustalet & Grandidier, 1903
	Mesitornis Bonaparte, 1855 Mesites	White-breasted mesite, Mesitornis variegatus (Saint-Hilaire, 1838) Brown mesite, Mesitornis unicolor (Des Murs, 1845)

Historically, mesites' Phylogenetics relationships were not very clear; they have been allied () 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).H Kuhl, C Frankl-Vilches, A Bakker, G Mayr, G Nikolaus, S T Boerno, S Klages, B Timmermann, M Gahr (2020) An unbiased molecular approach using 3’UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life. Molecular Biology and Evolution /ref>

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