mesia

bird
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/animal/mesia
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: Leiothrix argentauris, silver-ear, silver-eared mesia
Also called:
Silver-eared Mesia, or Silver-ear
Related Topics:
Leiothrix

mesia, (species Leiothrix argentauris), songbird of the babbler family Timaliidae (order Passeriformes). It is found from Pakistan through the Indochinese peninsula in scrub and secondary jungle. This 15-centimetre- (6-inch-) long bird is olive above and yellow below, with a black crown, silver ear patches, and some crimson on the tail. In groups of 6 to 30 it travels about the forest bushes and canopy seeking berries and peering under leaves for insects. Four eggs are laid in a cup-shaped nest. The mesia has a sweet, whistling song and is sometimes kept as a cage bird.