Brown mesite
Mesitornis unicolor (des Murs, 1845)
The brown mesite (Mesitornis unicolor) is a species in the family Mesitornithidae, order Mesitornithiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 148 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
Quick facts about the brown mesite
- Weight
- 148 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the brown mesite live?
Not recorded
What is the brown mesite?
The brown mesite (Mesitornis unicolor) is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. It is one of three species in the mesite family or the Mesitornithidae, and though classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is the most widespread of the three.
From the Wikipedia article “Brown mesite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown_mesite&oldid=1379679397), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the brown mesite endangered?
The brown mesite is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the brown mesite classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderMesitornithiformes
- familyMesitornithidae
- genusMesitornis
- SpeciesMesitornis unicolor (des Murs, 1845)
Synonyms Mesites unicolor, Mesoenas unicolor
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Brown roateloEnglish
- Brown roateloEnglish
- هذاب بنيArabic
- mesitornis unicolorCatalan
- mesit hnědýCzech
- mesît brownWelsh
- Brun DrosselrikseDanish
- EinfarbstelzenralleGerman
- Einfarb-StelzenralleGerman
- bruna mesitornitoEsperanto
- Mesito unicolorSpanish
- pruun-roateloEstonian
- ruskokyyhkyrääkkäFinnish
- Mésite unicoloreFrench
- smeđi drozdovacCroatian
- barna lábasguvatHungarian
- Mesena brunaItalian
- Mesite brunoItalian
- クリイロクイナモドキJapanese
- チャイロクイナモドキJapanese
- rudoji vištelėLithuanian
- RoateloMalagasy
- VoronantamboMalagasy
- Bruine SteltralDutch
- brunmesittNorwegian
- madagaskarnik jednobarwnyPolish
- mesito-marromPortuguese
- mesito-castanhoPortuguese
- Бурый меситRussian
- Одноцветный мадагаскарский пастушокRussian
- mezita hnedáSlovak
- Smeđi mezitSerbian
- brunmesitSwedish
- Kahve MezitTurkish
- Boz Karınlı MezitTurkish
- роутело бурийUkrainian
- 褐拟鹑Chinese
- 褐擬鶉Chinese
Relatives of the brown mesite
Other species in the same genus Mesitornis.
White-breasted mesite
Mesitornis variegatus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the brown mesite?
An adult brown mesite weighs 148 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the brown mesite endangered?
The brown mesite is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the brown mesite?
The brown mesite (Mesitornis unicolor) belongs to the family Mesitornithidae in the order Mesitornithiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Brown mesite (Mesitornis unicolor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-mesite
“Brown mesite (Mesitornis unicolor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-mesite.
@misc{brown_mesite_2026,
title = {Brown mesite (Mesitornis unicolor)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-mesite},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}