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Pitta iris

Photo by Tanager
Locality: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

[edit] Identification

Black head and below, green upperparts, pale blue shoulder and olive green tail. It has black bill, pink legs, brown eye and reddish brown streak along each side of crown. Both sexes are similar, with female slightly smaller and duller than male.

[edit] Distribution

Australia

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

• P. i. johnstoneiana in northwestern Western Australia (nw Kimberley region)
• P. i. iris in northern Australia (Arnhem Land, Melville I. and Groote Eylandt)

[edit] Habitat

Monsoon forest, vine thicket, bamboo,sometimes well planted gardens. Mostly seen working leaf litter on the forest floor for insect prey. Will perch on a low branch or fallen log and call.

[edit] Behaviour

Its diet consists mainly of insects, arthropods and small animals.

The nest is large and domed, and the female lays 3-4 glossy cream, blotched eggs.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID