Birds Guide

Pittas
Indian Pitta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Pittidae Swainson, 1831 Genus: Pitta Vieillot, 1816
Species
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