Blue-winged pitta

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Blue-winged pitta
Pitta moluccensis - Kaeng Krachan.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pittidae
Genus: Pitta
Species:
P. moluccensis
Binomial name
Pitta moluccensis

The blue-winged pitta (Pitta moluccensis) is a passerine bird in the family Pittidae. It forms a superspecies with three other pittas, the Indian pitta (P. brachyura), the fairy pitta (P. nympha) and the mangrove pitta (P. megarhyncha). A colourful bird, it has a black head with a buff stripe above the eye, a white collar, greenish upper parts, blue wings, buff underparts and a reddish vent area. Its range extends from India to Malaysia, Indonesia, southern China and the Philippines. Its habitat is moist woodland, parks and gardens and it avoids dense forest. It feeds mainly on insects and worms. It breeds in the spring, building an untidy spherical nest on the ground, often near water and between tree roots. A clutch of about five eggs is laid and incubated by both parents, hatching after about sixteen days.

Taxonomy

The blue-winged pitta was described by the German naturalist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776 and given the binomial name Turdus moluccensis. [2] Statius Müller's description was based on a plate showing the "Merle des Moluques" published by Comte de Buffon in his Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. [3] [4] The French name and the specific epithet moluccensis refer to the Moluccas (the Maluku Islands). This was an error as the range of the species does not extend as far east. The type locality was amended in 1963 to Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. [5] [4] The species is now placed in the genus Pitta that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. [6] The species is monotypic. [7]

The blue-winged pitta forms a superspecies with the Indian pitta (P. brachyura), fairy pitta (P. nympha) and mangrove pitta (P. megarhyncha). Alternate common names include: lesser blue-winged pitta, the little blue-winged pitta, the Moluccan pitta, the brève à ailes bleues (French), the Kleine Blauflügelpitta (German) and the pita aliazul (Spanish). [8]

Description

Sunning with spread wings Pitta moluccensis-20040821.jpg
Sunning with spread wings

Measuring 180 to 205 mm (7.1–8.1 in) in length, the blue-winged pitta has a black head with a buff-coloured supercilium, white chin and buff underparts. The shoulders and mantle are greenish, the wings are bright blue, and the vent is reddish. [9] The bill is black, eyes are brown and the legs pale pink. [10] It has a very short tail. [11] [12] Juveniles have similar patterned plumage but are duller. It resembles the mangrove pitta but can be distinguished by its shorter bill. The loud call has been transcribed as taew-laew taew-laew. [9]

Distribution and habitat

The blue-winged pitta is regularly found in Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and has been found to be vagrant in Australia, Christmas Island, Taiwan and Hong Kong. [1] Habitat is lowland subtropical and tropical forests. [13]

P. moluccensis is found in a variety of habitats, up to an altitude of 800 m (2,600 ft), including broadleaved forests, parks and gardens, and mangroves, [9] though avoids dense rainforest. [11]

The range is much of southeast Asia and Indochina, from central Myanmar east through Thailand and into peninsular Malaysia. [11] P. moluccensis is a winter visitor to Borneo and Sumatra, and a vagrant to the Philippines and Java. [14] It is a rare vagrant to the northwestern coast of Australia. [10]

Diet

The blue-winged pitta mostly feeds on worms and insects, hunting them on the ground or from a low branch or perch. [11] [15] They also eat hard-shelled snails. [15] [16] [17]

Breeding

At breeding time, the blue-winged pitta builds a large nest, usually on the ground, made of twigs, roots, grasses, leaves and mosses. The spherical and untidy nest has a side entrance and is often found between tree roots near water. [12] In its breeding range in peninsular Malaysia, the blue-winged pitta lays eggs between early May and late July each year. [18] The female lays 4-6 white or cream-coloured eggs with purple markings, and both parents take turns incubating the eggs for 15–17 days. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitta</span> Family of passerine birds

Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are 44 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest relatives among other birds are in the genera Smithornis and Calyptomena. Initially placed in a single genus, as of 2009 they have been split into three genera: Pitta, Erythropitta and Hydrornis. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at 15 to 25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Many have brightly coloured plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian pitta</span> Species of bird

The Indian pitta is a passerine bird native to the Indian subcontinent. It inhabits scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest. It breeds in the forests of the Himalayas, hills of central and western India, and migrates to other parts of the peninsula in winter. Although very colourful, it is usually shy and hidden in the undergrowth where it picks insects on the forest floor. It has a distinctive two note whistling call which is heard at dawn and dusk. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List as the population is considered large.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped kingfisher</span> Species of bird

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<i>Pitta</i> (genus) Genus of birds

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. They all have green on their upperparts with blue wing-patches. Many have dark heads. Nest construction, incubation and rearing of nestlings is performed by both parents. Incubation is completed in some 17 days, and the nestlings are altricial and nidicolous. Some species are migratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairy pitta</span> Species of bird

The fairy pitta is a small and brightly colored species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae. Its diet mainly consists of earthworms, spiders, insects, slugs, and snails. The fairy pitta breeds in East Asia and migrates south to winter in Southeast Asia. Due to various habitat and anthropogenic disruptions, such as deforestation, wildfire, hunting, trapping, and cage-bird trade, the fairy pitta is rare and the population is declining in most places. Listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II, this bird is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collared kingfisher</span> Species of bird

The collared kingfisher is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia to Polynesia. A number of subspecies and subspecies groups have been split from this species including the Pacific kingfisher, the islet kingfisher, the Torresian kingfisher, the Mariana kingfisher, and the Melanesian kingfisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Malaysia</span>

The wildlife of Malaysia is diverse, with Malaysia being a megadiverse country. Most of the country is covered in rainforest, which hosts a huge diversity of plant and animal species. There are approximately 361 mammal species, 694 bird species, 250 reptile species, and 150 frog species found in Malaysia. Its large marine territory also holds a great diversity of life, with the country's coastal waters comprising part of the Coral Triangle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western hooded pitta</span> Species of bird

The western hooded pitta is a passerine bird in the family Pittidae. It is common in eastern and southeastern Asia and maritime Southeast Asia, where it lives in several types of forests as well as on plantations and other cultivated areas. It is a green bird with a black head and chestnut crown. It forages on the ground for insects and their larvae, and also eats berries. It breeds between February and August, the pair being strongly territorial and building their nest on the ground. Incubation and care of the fledglings is done by both parents. The bird has a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Nicobar hooded pitta, the Minahasa hooded pitta, the eastern hooded pitta and the Biak hooded pitta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black nunbird</span> Species of bird

The black nunbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-rumped treeswift</span> Species of bird

The grey-rumped treeswift is a species of bird in the Hemiprocnidae family. Currently, four extant species are placed in the family. Like the other members of the Hemiprocnidae, this species is closely related to true swifts, but unlike true swifts, the treeswifts are arboreal in nature, often seen perched on trees and high-tension power transmission lines, and on pylons. When perched, the wing tips cross over the tail. This species is commonly found in peninsular Malaysia, but has an extremely large range with limited information about the population trend,.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-cowled wood rail</span> Bird in the family Rallidae from Central and South America

The grey-cowled wood rail or grey-necked wood rail is a species of bird in the family Rallidae, the rails. It lives primarily in the forests, mangroves, and swamps of Central and South America. Of the two subspecies, A. c. avicenniae is found in southeastern Brazil, while the nominate is found throughout the portion of the range not occupied by the other subspecies. The species as a whole is usually found at elevations from sea level to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), although some have been found above that. This bird's large extent of occurrence along with its population is why it is considered to be least-concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In some places, it is occasionally hunted and kept for food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar-bellied cuckooshrike</span> Species of bird

The bar-bellied cuckooshrike is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and its natural habitats include mangrove forest, dry forest, swamp forest, and secondary forest. The plumage varies among the subspecies, with different amounts of barring on the underparts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the species as one of least-concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African pitta</span> Species of bird

The African pitta is an Afrotropical bird of the family Pittidae. It is a locally common to uncommon species, resident and migratory in the west, and an intra-African migrant between equatorial and southeastern Africa. They are elusive and hard to observe despite their brightly coloured plumage, and their loud, explosive calls are infrequently heard. The plump, somewhat thrush-like birds forage on leaf litter under the canopy of riparian or coastal forest and thickets, or in climax miombo forest. They spend much time during mornings and at dusk scratching in leaf litter or around termitaria, or may stand motionless for long periods. Following rains breeding birds call and display from the mid-canopy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elegant pitta</span> Species of bird

The elegant pitta is a species of passerine bird in the pitta family Pittidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the Lesser Sunda Islands and Moluccas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove pitta</span> Species of bird

The mangrove pitta is a species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae native to the eastern Indian Subcontinent and western Southeast Asia. It is part of a superspecies where it is placed with the Indian pitta, the fairy pitta and the blue-winged pitta but has no recognized subspecies. A colourful bird, it has a black head with brown crown, white throat, greenish upper parts, buff underparts and reddish vent area. Its range extends from India to Malaysia and Indonesia. It is found in mangrove and nipa palm forests where it feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and insects. Its call, sometimes rendered as wieuw-wieuw, is sung from a high perch on a mangrove tree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noisy pitta</span> Species of bird

The noisy pitta is a species of bird in the family Pittidae. The noisy pitta is found in eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It eats earthworms, insects and snails. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunda pygmy woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The Sunda pygmy woodpecker, also known as the Sunda woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Some taxonomic authorities continue to place this species in the genus Dendrocopos or Picoides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad-billed roller</span> Species of bird

The broad-billed roller is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial belt in the dry season.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Pitta moluccensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22698688A93697612. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22698688A93697612.en . Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Statius Müller, Philipp Ludwig (1776). Des Ritters Carl von Linné Königlich Schwedischen Lelbarztes uc. uc. vollständigen Natursystems Supplements und Register-Band über alle sechs Theile oder Classen des Thierreichs mit einer ausführlichen Erklärung ausgefertiget. Nuremberg: Gabriel Nicolaus Raspe. p. 144.
  3. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas (1765–1783). Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 3. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 257, "Merle des Moluques".
  4. 1 2 Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 326.
  5. ↑ Deignan, Herbert G. (1963). "Checklist of the birds of Thailand". Bulletin of the United States National Museum (226): 1–263 [98]. doi:10.5479/si.03629236.226.1.
  6. ↑ Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 42, Num. 137.
  7. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "NZ wrens, broadbills & pittas". World Bird List Version 8.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis)". Internet Bird Collection. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Robson, Craig (2005). New Holland field guide to the birds of South-East Asia. Kenthurst, New South Wales: New Holland Publishers. p. 76. ISBN   1-84330-746-4 . Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  10. 1 2 Slater, Peter (1978) [1974]. A field guide to Australian birds: passerines. Adelaide: Rigby. p. 86. ISBN   0-85179-813-6.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Strange, Morten (2000). Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia including the Philippines & Borneo. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 220. ISBN   0-691-11494-3 . Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 Blue-Winged Pitta Archived 2015-06-27 at the Wayback Machine , Animal Database at KidsBiology.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Blue-winged Pitta, Pitta moluccensis". BirdLife International . Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Strange, Morten (2003). Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 221. ISBN   0-691-11495-1 . Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  15. 1 2 Khor, Nelson. "Blue Winged Pitta Success Nesting". slideshow by Nelson Khor at pbase.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  16. ↑ DSC_8612 Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis). Flickr photo. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  17. ↑ DSC_8671Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis). Flickr photo. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  18. ↑ Hutchinson, Robert and Mears, Andy. "Extension of the breeding range of Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis) in peninsular Malaysia" Forktail22: 119–120 (2006). Article hosted at orientalbirdclub.org. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
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