White-breasted mesite White-breasted mesite The white-breasted mesite ("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. The white-breasted 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 white face with distinctive facial markings (a white supercilium and dark malar
Island "ieg" is actually a cognate of Swedish "ö" and German "Aue", and related to Latin "aqua" (water). Greenland is the world's largest island, with an area of over 2.1 million km, while Australia, the world's smallest continent, has an area of 7.6 million km, but there is no standard of size that distinguishes islands from continents, or from islets. There is a difference between islands and continents in terms of geology. Continents sit on continental lithosphere, which is part of tectonic plates floating high on Earth's mantle. Oceanic crust is also part of tectonic plates, but it is denser than