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.[1] 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.[2] Incubation is completed in some 17 days, and the nestlings are altricial and nidicolous.[2] Some species are migratory.
The antpittas, a Neotropical bird family of some 50 species, resemble the pittas in their hopping gait, furtive behaviour, long legs and short tails.
The genus Pitta was erected by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816.[3] 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.[4] [5] The word Pitta is from the Telugu language and means "pretty", "bauble" or "pet".[6]
The genus contains 20 species, distributed from Africa, through southern, eastern and south-eastern Asia, to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia. It was formerly the sole genus in the family and contained 31 species.[1] 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".[7]
The genus contains 20 species:[8]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitta angolensis | tropical and subtropical Africa | |||
| Pitta reichenowi | Green-breasted pitta | tropical Africa | ||
| Pitta brachyura | Indian subcontinent | |||
| Pitta moluccensis | Australia and Southeast Asia | |||
| Pitta megarhyncha | eastern India to western Southeast Asia | |||
| Pitta sordida | mainland and maritime Southeast Asia | |||
| Pitta abbotti | Nicobar Islands | |||
| Pitta forsteni | north Sulawesi | |||
| Pitta novaeguineae | New Guinea | |||
| Pitta rosenbergii | Biak (Cenderawasih Bay islands, northwest New Guinea) | |||
| Pitta nympha | East Asia | |||
| Pitta versicolor | Noisy pitta | eastern Australia and southern New Guinea | ||
| Pitta maxima | North Maluku | |||
| Pitta concinna | Lesser Sunda Islands | |||
| Pitta elegans | Lesser Sunda Islands | |||
| Pitta vigorsii | Maluku Islands | |||
| Pitta anerythra | western Melanesia | |||
| Pitta steerii | Philippines | |||
| Pitta superba | Manus Island (north of Papua New Guinea) | |||
| Pitta iris | Rainbow pitta | northern Australia | ||