Blue Pitta - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by nothinghill
Khaoyai National Park, Thailand

Hydrornis cyaneus

Identification

23cm
Male : blue upperparts and flame-orange hindcrown and nape. Forecrown usually dull pale olive. Prominent black eye-line and moustache. Underparts washed pale blue-grey, with fine black spots and bars.
Female : less obvious orange on nape (sometimes lacking) and dull, dark olive upperparts with slight blue tinge : tail bright blue. Underparts whiter than male.
Both sexes show a small white patch at base of primaries in flight.

Female
Photo by nothinghill
Khaoyai National Park, Thailand

Distribution

Found from eastern Bangladesh and northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh) to Burma, southern China (Yunnan), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and southwest Cambodia.
Fairly common in parts of Thailand, rare in the rest of its range.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 3 subspecies:

• H. c. cyaneus:

• Eastern Bangladesh, north-eastern India, southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina

• H. c. aurantiacus:

• Mountains of south-western Cambodia and south-eastern Thailand

• H. c. willoughbyi:

• Mountains of central Laos to spouthern Annam

Fomerly placed in genus Pitta.

Habitat

Evergreen forest, bamboo and the moister mixed deciduous forests from plains to 1500 m. Fairly common resident.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects, insect larvae, worms, grubs and snails. Foraging by digging in the soil with its bill.
Breeds from June to October in Thailand and from May to June in India and Burma. The domed nest is made from bamboo leaves, roots and debris. It's placed 4m above the ground in the understorey or in a young tree.
Largely sedentary, some altitudinal movements in India and Burma. Probably only a breeding visitor to Bangladesh.

Vocalisation

Call: pleoow-whit

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Dickinson, EC, ed. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed., with updates to October 2008 (Corrigenda 8). Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117010
3. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
4. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334504

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Blue Pitta. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue_Pitta

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