GRUES 
to 
naked on their inferior part ; the metatarsi are scutellated; the toes are slender; the hallux is 
inserted on the same level than the front toes, the inner of which is shorter than the outer; at the 
base, on a very small extent, the outer and middle toes are united by a skin expansion, The 
feathers have no aftershaft; their rhachis is slender and weak, the barbs are without strong 
adherence, so that the plumage is very soft to the touch, 
The pterylosis has been fully described by Forbes and summed up as it follows by 
Beddard : «There are four apteria on the neck, since both dorsal and ventral tracts divide early. 
The dorsal tracts converge inter-scapularly, and then become much feebler, and are continued 
on to the Y-shaped posterior part of the tract, The ventral tracts cease altogether at the com- 
mencement of the pectoral region, but recommence behind the powder-downs, The outer 
branch is present, but is quite inconnected with the main stem. » There are five pairs of 
powder-down patches : two pairs are dorsal, one in the interscapular region, the other on the 
rump; two pairs are ventral, one on the breast, the other on the posterior ventral region ; the 
patches of the fifth pair are lateral, being axillary in situation. The oil gland is present and 
apparently nude, 
The tongue is long, slender, bifid at its extremity. There are two carotids. The sternum 
is weak and narrow; the keel is small and has its anterior angle about on the middle of the 
breast-bone; anterior and posterior lateral processes are present and well-developed. The 
clavicles are wanting. According to the terrestrial habits and to the high run-power of the bird, 
the wing bones are reduced, but the pelvis is very wide and the legs are strong boned; the 
skull is schizognathous with weak maxillo-palatines. In the hind limb musculature, the femo- 
rocaudal and its accessory, the semitendinosus and its accessory, the ambiens, are all present, 
The female has a more uniformly coloured plumage than the male; she is more rufous 
and originally she has been described as a distinct species, Mesites unicolor. 
Habits and Reproduction. MJesites is a terrestrial bird inhabiting only some wooded 
eastern districts of the mountains of Madagascar, It does not fly, but runs quickly, When the 
bird is walking, it stops frequently looking on all sides, then runs again, The cry is a feeble deaf 
note, uttered specially in running. Insects, chiefly ants, constitute the main part of the feeding. 
The nest is upon the ground; it is made of small branches, sprigs of rush, or Pandanus leaves. 
Range. The JJesitid@ are confined to Madagascar, 
Bibliography. Milne-Edwards et Grandidier, Hist. Nat. Madagascar, Ois. Vol. 2, p. 601 (1885); 
Sharpe. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. Vol. 23, p. 244 (1894); Beddard, Structure and Classification of 
Birds, p. 379 (1898); Sharpe. Hand-list Birds, Vol. 1, p. 180 (1899). 
The Wesitid@ consist of a single Genus Mesites. Only one Species is known, WV. variegata. 
GENUS MESITES GEOFFROY SAINT-HILAIRE 
Mesites Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sc. Paris, Vol. 6, p. 440 (1838). 
Synonym : Mesenas Reichenbach, Naturgesch. Tauben, p. 6 (1862). 
Mesttornis attributed by Gray (Hand-list, Vol. 1, p. 267, 1869) to Bonaparte has never 
been introduced by this ornithologist for replacing Mesites (see Comptes Rendus 
Acad. Sc. Paris, Vol. 41, pp. 650-651, 1855). 
