Blue Pitta

Overview

The blue pitta is a medium-sized passerine in the family Pittidae found in the northeastern Indian subcontinent, southern China, and Indochina. It is an unobtrusive, solitary bird that typically inhabits moist forests but can also survive in drier environments.

Identification

• Length of about 23 cm with long legs and a short tail.
• Yellow forehead and crown with a bright orange nape, marked by a bold black eye stripe.
• Males possess a blue back and tail with a speckled pale bluish breast, whereas females have a grey back and speckled pale grey breast.
• Dark grey bill and pale pink legs.
• A long, drawn-out 'pleoow-whit' or 'choocoo-whip' call that ends suddenly.

Habitat

Found from sea level up to about 2,000 m across northeastern India, eastern Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and southern China. It favours lowland and montane moist evergreen forests with bamboos, often near streams and in ravines, though it also occurs in drier tropical forests.

Diet

Feeds by foraging on the ground for insects, particularly beetles and their larvae, as well as spiders, snails, worms, and grubs. It searches through plant litter on the forest floor, flicking away leaves and probing the ground with its beaks.

Did you know?

The nest is a large, bulky dome-shaped structure with a side entrance that is hidden amongst tangled plant growth.