White-breasted mesite
Mesitornis variegatus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1838)
The white-breasted mesite (Mesitornis variegatus) is a species in the family Mesitornithidae, order Mesitornithiformes. Recorded adults weigh 107 g to 110 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
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Quick facts about the white-breasted mesite
- Weight
- 107 g – 110 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.7src 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 white-breasted mesite live?
Not recorded
What is the white-breasted mesite?
The white-breasted mesite or white-breasted roatelo (Mesitornis variegatus) is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. One of three species in the mesite family, Mesitornithidae, it is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has a small population and is restricted to five sites in the north and west of the island, and one in the east.
From the Wikipedia article “White-breasted mesite” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-breasted_mesite&oldid=1355301070), 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 white-breasted mesite endangered?
The white-breasted 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 white-breasted mesite classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderMesitornithiformes
- familyMesitornithidae
- genusMesitornis
- SpeciesMesitornis variegatus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1838)
Synonyms Mesites variegata, Mesitornis variegata, Mesitornis variegata variegata, Mesoenas variegata
Other names and names in other languages (39)
- White-breasted roateloEnglish
- White-breasted roateloEnglish
- هذاب أبيض الصدرArabic
- Белогръд меситBulgarian
- mesitornis cellutCatalan
- mesit běloprsýCzech
- Mesît bronwynWelsh
- Hvidbrystet DrosselrikseDanish
- KurzfußstelzenralleGerman
- Kurzfuß-StelzenralleGerman
- Weißbrust-StelzenralleGerman
- Blankabrusta mesitoEsperanto
- blankbrusta mesitornitoEsperanto
- Mesito pechiblancoSpanish
- valgerind-roateloEstonian
- kirjokyyhkyrääkkäFinnish
- Mésite variéeFrench
- bjeloprsi drozdovacCroatian
- fehértorkú lábasguvatHungarian
- Mesite pettobiancoItalian
- Mesena dal petto biancoItalian
- ムナジロクイナモドキJapanese
- baltakrūtė vištelėLithuanian
- TolohonalaMalagasy
- FangadekovyMalagasy
- Tsintah noołnahii bitéél łigaaígííNavajo
- WitborststeltralDutch
- brunvingemesittNorwegian
- madagaskarnik plamistyPolish
- mesito-de-peito-brancoPortuguese
- Белогрудый меситRussian
- Белогрудый мадагаскарский пастушокRussian
- mezita pestráSlovak
- Belogrudi mezitSerbian
- vitbröstad mesitSwedish
- Ak Karınlı MezitTurkish
- роутело білогрудийUkrainian
- 白胸拟鹑Chinese
- 白胸擬鶉Chinese
Relatives of the white-breasted mesite
Other species in the same genus Mesitornis.
Brown mesite
Mesitornis unicolor
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the white-breasted mesite?
An adult white-breasted mesite weighs 107 g – 110 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the white-breasted mesite endangered?
The white-breasted 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 white-breasted mesite?
The white-breasted mesite (Mesitornis variegatus) 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). White-breasted mesite (Mesitornis variegatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-breasted-mesite
“White-breasted mesite (Mesitornis variegatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-breasted-mesite.
@misc{white_breasted_mesite_2026,
title = {White-breasted mesite (Mesitornis variegatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-breasted-mesite},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}