Pitta (genus)

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

See text.

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]

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[edit]

The genus Pitta was erected by the French ornithologist Louis 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 20 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[edit]

The genus contains 20 species:[9]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Pitta angolensis African pitta tropical and subtropical Africa
Pitta reichenowi Green-breasted pitta tropical Africa
Pitta brachyura Indian pitta Indian subcontinent
Pitta moluccensis Blue-winged pitta Australia and Southeast Asia
Pitta megarhyncha Mangrove pitta eastern India to western Southeast Asia
Pitta sordida Western hooded pitta mainland and maritime Southeast Asia
Pitta abbotti Nicobar hooded pitta Nicobar Islands
Pitta forsteni Minahasa hooded pitta north Sulawesi
Pitta novaeguineae Eastern hooded pitta New Guinea
Pitta rosenbergii Biak hooded pitta Biak (Cenderawasih Bay islands, northwest New Guinea)
Pitta nympha Fairy pitta East Asia
Pitta versicolor Noisy pitta eastern Australia and southern New Guinea
Pitta maxima Ivory-breasted pitta North Maluku
Pitta concinna Ornate pitta Lesser Sunda Islands
Pitta elegans Elegant pitta Lesser Sunda Islands
Pitta vigorsii Banda Sea pitta Maluku Islands
Pitta anerythra Black-faced pitta western Melanesia
Pitta steerii Azure-breasted pitta Philippines
Pitta superba Superb pitta Manus Island (north of Papua New Guinea)
Pitta iris Rainbow pitta northern Australia

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Pittidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  2. ^ a b Zimmerman, Dale A.; et al. (1999). Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton University Press. p. 495. ISBN 0691010226.
  3. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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 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. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "NZ wrens, broadbills & pittas". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 January 2024.


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