Brown mesite 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. This species 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 plain face, marked only by a slightly contrasting fleshy eye-ring around a rather large eye and a variable white streak behind the eye. It has
Higginson Island Higginson Island Higginson Island is a small island in the Arafura Sea lying off the north-eastern coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is one of the East Bremer Islets, lying to the north and east of the much larger Bremer Island. The island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports globally significant numbers of bridled (up to 10,000 individuals) and roseate terns (up to 30,000). The 9 ha IBA includes the other East Bremer Islets where the roseate tern colony sometimes relocates, and where large numbers of