Pittidae – Pittas

Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds mainly found in tropical Asia and Australasia, although a couple of species live in Africa. The unified world list places Pittidae in linear sequence after the Philepittidae (Asities), the two broadbill families Eurylaomidae (Typical Broadbills) & Calytomenidae (Green & African Broadbills) and Sapayoidae (Sapayoa) (broadly grouped together with those four) and before Pipridae (Manakins).

Pittas are all similar in general structure and habits, and have often been placed in a single genus, although recently (2009) they have been split into three genera; Erythropitta, Hydrornis and Pitta. The name is derived from the word pitta in the Telugu language of South India and is a generic local name used for all small birds. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at 15cm to 20 cm in length, with stocky build, and strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Most, but not all, have brightly coloured plumage.

They are fairly terrestrial birds of wet forest floors. They eat snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey. They are mostly solitary and lay up to six eggs in a large spherical nest in a tree or shrub, or sometimes on the ground. Both parents care for the young. Many species of pittas are migratory, and they often end up in unexpected places like house-gardens during migration.

Black-crowned Pitta Erythropitta ussheri – ©Dubi Shapiro

A number of species of pitta are threatened with extinction. One of these, the Gurney’s Pitta, is listed as endangered by the IUCN; a further eight species are listed as vulnerable. The main threat to pittas is habitat loss in the form of rapid deforestation.

The pittas range in size from the Blue-banded Pitta at 15cm to the Giant pitta, which can be up to 29cm in length; ranging in weight from 42g to 210g. They are all stout bodied birds with long, strong tarsi and long feet. There is considerable variation in the colour of the legs and feet, this may be used by females in judging the quality of males. The wings have ten primaries are generally rounded and short; those of the four migratory species, however, are more pointed. Although pittas are behaviourally reluctant to fly, they are capable and even strong fliers. The tails range from being short to very short, and is composed of twelve feathers.

Blue-headed Pitta Hydrornis baudii – ©Dubi Shapiro

Atypically for forest floor species, the plumage of pittas is often bright and colourful. Only one species, the Eared Pitta, has entirely cryptic colours in the adults of both sexes. In the same genus, three others have drabber than average plumage. Like the other Hydrornis pittas they are sexually dimorphic in their plumage, with the females tending towards being drabber and more cryptic than the males. Across most of the family the brighter colours tend to be on the undersides, with the bright colours on the rump, wings and upper-tail coverts being concealable. Being able to conceal bright colours from predator approach from above is important.

Eastern Hooded Pitta Pitta novaeguineae – ©Dubi Shapiro

The pittas are generally birds of tropical forests, semi-forests and scrub. Of particular importance to most species are forests with lots of cover, a rich understory, and leaf litter for feeding. Pittas often frequent areas near waterways as well. Some species inhabit swamps and bamboos forests, and the Mangrove Pitta, as its name suggests, is a mangrove specialist.

Mangrove Pitta Pitta megarhyncha – ©Andy Walker

A number of species are lowland forest specialists, for example the rainbow pitta is not found above 400m, whereas other species may occur at much higher elevations, for example Rusty-naped Pitta have been found up to 2,600m. This varies in the Fairy Pitta across its range, reaching up to 1,300m in Taiwan, but at much lower levels in Japan. In addition to natural habitats pittas may use human altered habitats, for example migrating Blue-winged Pittas and Hooded Pittas use parks and urban gardens in Singapore and India Pitta is found in gardens in Sri Lanka. The Fairy Pitta migrates from Korea, Japan, Taiwan and coastal China to Borneo. The greatest diversity of pittas is found in South-east Asia. The movements of pittas are poorly known and notoriously difficult to study.

Ornate Pitta Pitta concinna – ©Andy Walker

Pittas are diurnal, requiring light in order to find their often-cryptic prey. They are, nevertheless, often found in darker areas and are highly secretive, though they will respond to imitations of their calls. They are generally found as single birds, with even young birds not associating with their parents unless they are being fed. Small groups have been observed during migration.

They are strongly territorial, with territories varying in size from 3000 m² in the African Pitta to 10,000m² in the Rainbow Pitta. They will perform territory defence displays on the edges of their territories, although fights between rivals have only been recorded once. Migratory species will defend non-breeding feeding territories in addition to their breeding ones.

Bar-bellied Pitta Hydrornis elliotii – ©Dubi Shapiro

Earthworms form the major part of the diet of many pittas, followed by snails in order of importance. Earthworms may, however, become seasonally unavailable in dry conditions when the worms move deeper into the soil. In addition, a wide range of invertebrate prey is eaten, including many insect groups such as termites, ants, beetles and lepidopterans; as well as freshwater crabs, centipedes, millipedes, and spiders. In addition to invertebrates some species, such as the Fairy Pitta and Rainbow Pitta, have been recorded feeding on vertebrate prey. In the case of Fairy Pitta, the prey were shrews.

Like most birds, the pittas are monogamous breeders, and defend breeding territories. Most species are seasonal breeders, timing their breeding to occur at the onset of the rainy season. The courtship behaviours of the family are poorly known, but the elaborate dance of the African Pitta includes jumping into the air with a puffed-out breast and parachuting down back down to the perch.

Papuan Pitta Erythropitta macklotii – ©Dubi Shapiro

The pittas build a rudimentary nest that is a dome with a side entrance. The structure of the nest is consistent across the whole family. Both parents incubate the clutch, the period between laying and hatching being between 14 and 18 days (14 to 16 being more typical). The chicks usually hatch asynchronously, over a number of days, but in some species the hatching is synchronous. On hatching the parents of at least two species are reported to consume the eggshells.

According to the unified world list there are 46 species of Pitta in just three genera; they are set out in the species list below. There are two others recognised as full species by some and their final status requires more research.