Blue-headed Pitta

Male
Photo © by Jason Bugay Reyes
Danum Valley Sabah, Borneo, March 2011

Hydrornis baudii

Identification

17 cm (6¾ in)
Male

• Blue crown
• Black cheeks
• Reddish-brown mantle
• Black wings marked with white
• Blue tail
• White throat
• Deep violet-blue underparts
  

Female

Female
Photo © by dandsblair
Danum, Borneo, September 2015

• Buff crown and upperparts
• Buffy cheeks to vent

Juveniles are similar to females but duller, have a dark brown breast and brown and golden marbled underparts.

Distribution

Endemic to Borneo.
A locally common species but with a patchy distribution. Threatened by rapid deforestation.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].
Formlery placed in genus Pitta and sometimes in its own genus Iridipitta.

Habitat

Dense cover in moist lowland forests to 600m. Often close to rivers.

Behaviour

A shy and secretive species.

Diet

Feeds on earthworms, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars and other arthropods.
Feeds among leaf litter by turning over leaves.

Breeding

The few breeding records suggest a breeding season from March to October. A recorded nest was domed, made of dead leaves and herbs and placed 0.5m above the ground. The clutch consisted of 2 eggs.

Movements

Probably a sedentary species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
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
5. BirdLife International

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-headed Pitta. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-headed_Pitta

External Links

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