Hydrornis is a genus of pitta in the family Pittidae. The genus contains thirteen species, found in South-east Asia. The genus was formerly merged with the genus Pitta, but a 2006 study split the family into three genera.
The pittas were at one time all usually placed in the genus Pitta, the only genus in the family Pittidae, but when a 2006 molecular phylogenetic study found that the pittas formed three separate groups, the genus was split and some species were moved into two resurrected genera, Erythropitta and Hydrornis.[1] The genus Hydrornis had been introduced by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1843 with the blue-naped pitta (Hydrornis nipalensis) as the type species.[2] [3] The name Hydrornis combines the Ancient Greek words Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: hudōr "water" and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ornis "bird".[4]
The pittas in Hydrornis have sexually dimorphic plumage, a feature that is absent for all other pittas. Also for those species that have been studied, the juveniles have a spotted cryptic plumage.[1]
The genus contains 13 species:[5]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrornis phayrei | Southeast Asia. | ||
| Hydrornis nipalensis | Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and Vietnam. | ||
| Hydrornis soror | Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam | ||
| Hydrornis oatesi | China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. | ||
| Hydrornis schneideri | Sumatra in Indonesia | ||
| Hydrornis caeruleus | Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. | ||
| Hydrornis baudii | Borneo | ||
| Hydrornis cyaneus | Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. | ||
| Hydrornis elliotii | Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam | ||
| Hydrornis gurneyi | Malay Peninsula | ||
| Hydrornis guajanus | Java and Bali | ||
| Hydrornis irena | Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. | ||
| Hydrornis schwaneri | Borneo | ||