Subdesert mesite happening in most of its range apart from to the north of Manombo. The birds are also taken by dogs, by hunting, and introduced rats ("Rattus" sp) may also be a problem. In 2002 there was an estimated population 115,000 and it is estimated that numbers are falling. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the conservation status of this bird as ″vulnerable″. Subdesert mesite 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
What Bird is That? of "What Bird is That?" It was published in 1984 and incorporated all of Cayley’s paintings created over many years for his vision of releasing a “big bird book” and included a revised taxonomy. In the 53 years since its first edition, more than a hundred new bird species had been identified in Australia. Scientific names had been changed and groups of birds had been reordered. Lindsey brought "What Bird is That?" up-to-date with the latest birding conventions of the time, as well as contributing a valuable supplementary list of birds and a scholarly catalogue of Cayley’s paintings. The "Signature