| Pittas | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indian Pitta
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| See text. |
Pittas are passerine birds mainly found in tropical Asia and Australasia, although a couple of species live in Africa.
They are all similar in general structure and habits, and are placed in single genus. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, and stocky, with longish strong legs, very short tails and stout bills. Many, but not all, are brightly coloured. The name is derived from the word pitta in the Telugu language of Andhra Pradesh in India and is a generic local name used for all small birds.
These are fairly terrestrial birds of wet forest floors, which eat snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey. They are mostly solitary and lay up to six eggs in a large spherical nest in a tree or shrub, or sometimes on the ground.
Many species of pittas are migratory, and they often end up at odd places like house-gardens during passage migration.
Species
- Eared Pitta, Pitta phayrei
Blue-naped Pitta, Pitta nipalensis
Blue-rumped Pitta, Pitta soror
Rusty-naped Pitta, Pitta oatesi
Schneider's Pitta, Pitta schneideri
Giant Pitta, Pitta caerulea
Blue Pitta, Pitta cyanea
Banded Pitta, Pitta guajana
Bar-bellied Pitta, Pitta elliotii
Gurney's Pitta, Pitta gurneyi
Blue-headed Pitta, Pitta baudii
Hooded Pitta, Pitta sordida
Ivory-breasted Pitta, Pitta maxima
Superb Pitta, Pitta superba
Azure-breasted Pitta, Pitta steerii
Whiskered Pitta, Pitta kochi
Red-bellied Pitta, Pitta erythrogaster
Sula Pitta, Pitta dohertyi
Blue-banded Pitta, Pitta arcuata
Garnet Pitta, Pitta granatina
Black-headed Pitta, Pitta ussheri
Black-crowned Pitta, Pitta venusta
African Pitta, Pitta angolensis
Green-breasted Pitta, Pitta reichenowi
Indian Pitta, Pitta brachyura
Fairy Pitta, Pitta nympha
Blue-winged Pitta, Pitta moluccensis
Mangrove Pitta, Pitta megarhyncha
Elegant Pitta, Pitta elegans
Noisy Pitta, Pitta versicolor
Black-faced Pitta, Pitta anerythra
Rainbow Pitta, Pitta iris
External links
- Pitta videos on the Internet Bird Collection
