Subdesert mesite 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 in southwest Madagascar. The subdesert mesite is a medium-sized terrestrial bird which is often described as rail-like (a family with which the mesites are sometimes placed). The species has a long and downward-curved bill distinguishing it from the other members of the family. Both sexes are greyish above and show thin white eyebrows. Both have white underparts; the male has black crescent-shaped spots on the
Mutton Bird Island for breeding seabirds. Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are the little penguin (3,000 pairs), short-tailed shearwater, (530,000 pairs), fairy prion (2,500 pairs), Pacific gull, silver gull and sooty oystercatcher. Reptiles present are the metallic skink and Tasmanian tree skink. Mutton Bird Island Mutton Bird Island is an irregularly shaped unpopulated island located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. Situated some south of where the mouth of Port Davey meets the Southern Ocean, the is the largest of the eight islands that comprise the Mutton Bird Islands Group. The Mutton Bird Island is part of the Southwest National