Pitta (genus)

Pitta is a genus of birds in the Pittidae, or pitta family. They are secretive, brightly coloured birds that forage on the forest floor. They are long-legged and short-tailed with rounded wings.[2] They all have green on their upperparts with blue wing-patches. Many have dark heads.[3] Nest construction, incubation and rearing of nestlings is performed by both parents.[4] Incubation is completed in some 17 days, and the nestlings are altricial and nidicolous.[4] Some species are migratory.[3]

Pitta
Noisy pitta in Australia
Call of blue-winged pitta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pittidae
Genus: Pitta
Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Corvus brachyurus[1]
Linnaeus, 1766
Species

See text.

The antpittas, a Neotropical bird family of some 50 species, resemble the pittas in their hopping gait, furtive behaviour, long legs and short tails.

Taxonomy

The genus Pitta was erected by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816.[5] In 1855 the English ornithologist George Robert Gray designated the type species as Corvus triostegus Sparrman. This is a junior synonym of Corvus brachyura Linnaeus, the Indian pitta.[6][7] The word Pitta is from the Telugu language and means "pretty", "bauble" or "pet".[8]

The genus contains 16 species, distributed from Africa, through southern, eastern and south-eastern Asia, to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.[9] It was formerly the sole genus in the family and contained 31 species.[2] However, following a 2006 study, some of the species were split off into two resurrected genera, Erythropitta and Hydrornis, though all members of the family continue to be known as "pittas".[3]

Species

The 14-16 species in the genus are:[9][10]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Pitta sordidaHooded pittamainland and maritime Southeast Asia
Pitta maximaIvory-breasted pittaNorth Maluku
Pitta concinna Ornate pitta Lesser Sunda Islands
Pitta superbaSuperb pittaManus Island (north of Papua New Guinea)
Pitta steeriiAzure-breasted pittaPhilippines
Pitta angolensisAfrican pittatropical and subtropical Africa
Pitta reichenowiGreen-breasted pittatropical Africa
Pitta brachyuraIndian pittaIndian subcontinent
Pitta nymphaFairy pittaEast Asia
Pitta moluccensisBlue-winged pittaAustralia and Southeast Asia
Pitta megarhynchaMangrove pittaeastern India to western Southeast Asia
Pitta elegansElegant pittaLesser Sunda Islands
Pitta vigorsii Banda Sea pitta Maluku Islands
Pitta versicolorNoisy pittaeastern Australia and southern New Guinea
Pitta anerythraBlack-faced pittawestern Melanesia
Pitta irisRainbow pittanorthern Australia
  • Video of mangrove pitta
  • Incubating green-breasted pitta
    Incubating green-breasted pitta
  • Hooded pitta nest with egg in Borneo
    Hooded pitta nest with egg in Borneo
  • Egg of a noisy pitta
    Egg of a noisy pitta
  • Snail shells beside a noisy pitta's "anvil"
    Snail shells beside a noisy pitta's "anvil"

References
  1. "Pittidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  2. Zimmerman, Dale A.; et al. (1999). Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton University Press. p. 495. ISBN 0691010226.
  3. Irestedt, M.; Ohlson, J.I.; Zuccon, D.; Källersjö, M.; Ericson, P.G.P. (2006). "Nuclear DNA from old collections of avian study skins reveals the evolutionary history of the Old World suboscines (Aves: Passeriformes)" (PDF). Zoologica Scripta. 35 (6): 567–580. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00249.x. S2CID 84788609.
  4. Tarboton, Warwick (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Cape Town: Struik. p. 141. ISBN 1-86872-616-9.
  5. Vieillot, Louis Jean Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 42, Num. 137.
  6. Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the genera and subgenera of birds contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 43.
  7. Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 310.
  8. Jobling, J.A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  9. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "NZ wrens, broadbills & pittas". World Bird List Version 8.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-01-12.


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