The Sumatran mesia is a small, rare 16 cm babbler found only in mountain evergreen forests in Indonesia. It was first spotted in southern Sumatra in 1879, but is currently in rapid decline due to extremely high levels of trapping for the domestic cage bird industry. It is now absent from sites where it was once one of the most common species 15 years ago. My hope is that this small lovely bird will help raise awareness for conservation efforts in Sumatra and the critical need for policies to stop trapping for the pet trade.