Red-bellied Pitta

ssp celebensis
Photo by martinuk
Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia, October, 2009

Alternative names: Blue-breasted Pitta; Red-breasted Pitta; Macklot's Pitta (macklotii)

Pitta erythrogaster

Includes Sula Pitta

Identification

16 - 18cm. Wide geographical variation in plumage.
Nominate subspecies:

• Red-brown head with dark brown lores and supercilium and cinnamon cheeks
• Blue upper mantle
• Dark green lower mantle and back
• Blue rump and tail
• Deep blue upperwing-coverts, black flight-feathers, variable small white spots on primaries
• Black lower throat and upper breast (sometimes with white throatband)
• Broad glossy blue band across breast (variably becoming green at sides)
• Scarlet rest of underparts
• Black bill

immature of nominate subspecie
Photo by Romy Ocon
Laguna Province, Philippines, November 2004

Females are duller and more green and less blue on breast. Juveniles are dull brown above and have a dull blue rump and tail. They are paler below, have a whitish throat and a dark brown breast with white spots.

Distribution

Found on the Philippines, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, New Guinea (including Bismarck Archipelago) and northeast Australia (Cape York Peninsula).
Locally common in parts of its range.

Taxonomy

A large number of subspecies are recognized:

• P. e. erythrogaster on the Philippines (except Palawan)
• P. e. propinqua on Palawan and Balbac

• Brighter and slighty smaller than nominate

• P. e. caeruleitorques on Sangihe Island

• With a black band between blue breast and belly, brighter on nape, head more uniformely brown

• P. e. inspeculata on Talaud Islands

• With a dark chestnut-brown head, all blue upperparts and a smaller all blue breastband

• P. e. palliceps on Siao and Tahulandang, north of Sulawesi

• Similar to celebensis but paler, crown with less blue and no or little black on breast

• P. e. celebensis on Sulawesi (including Manterawu and Togian Islands)

• With blue stripe from midcrown to nape, more blue on breastband and broad black band below

• P. e. rufiventris on the northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera, Moti, Bacan, Mandioli, Damar, Obi and possibly also Kasiruta)

• Reddish nape, dull dark green to dull blue rump, pale throat, no blue on mantle, thin black and greenish band below blue breast

• P. e. cyanonota on Ternate

• Bright rufous nape, dull blue upperpart, entire breast pale blue

• P. e. bernsteini on Gebe Island

• Similar to cyanonota but slightly bigger, paler above and blue on breast silvery

• P. e. rubrinucha on Buru

• With pale blue on crown and behind eye, small contrasting red patch on nape, no blue on mantle

• P. e. piroensis on Seram

• Similar to rubrinucha but red patch larger and darker green above

• P. e. mackloti in western and southern New Guinea (including Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, Misool and Yapen Island) and in northeast Australia (Cape York Peninsula)

• Dark forecrown, face and throat, bright orange-rufous nape, tinged blue ear-coverts and stripe over eye, no blue on mantle, dark breastband extremely variable

• P. e. habenichti in northern New Guinea

• Similar to mackloti but brighter red or orange-red nape

• P. e. aruensis on Aru Islands

• Similar to mackloti but smaller and sometimes some blue on mantle

• P. e. oblita in southeast New Guinea (mountains of upper river Aroa)

• With pale yellow-brown nape

• P. e. loriae in extreme southeast New Guinea

• Darker head and mantle, larger bill, sometimes narrow blue line on upper mantle

• P. e. extima on New Hanover (Bismark Archipelago)

• Larger than oblita, some blue feathers on midcrown, more bluish-green back

• P. e. novaehibernicae on New Ireland

• With walnut-brown crown, contrasting reddish-orange nape, bluish ear-coverts and no black on throat or breast

• P. e. splendida on Tabar Island

• With scarlet nape, narrow blackish hindcollar, deep blue upperparts, blue breast side

• P. e. gazellae in the southern Bismark Archipelago (Umboi, New Britain, Lolobau, Tolokiwa, Watum, Duke of York)

• Stronger blue line on midcrown than extima and redder crown side

• P. e. finschii on D'Entrecasteaux Archpelago (Goodenough Island, Fergusson Island)

• Uniform dull dark chestnut crown to nape, deep blue upperparts

• P. e. meeki on Louisiade Archipelago

• Duller than other subspecies, more greyish throat, broad black lower breastband finely tipped red

• P. e. dohertyi on Banggai Archipelago and Sula Islands, east of Sulawesi -Sula Pitta

• Black head, neck and throat with chestnut crown, glossy green upperparts, narrow light blue breastband with broad blackish band below, female with white iris

Sula Pitta is recognised as a separate species (P. dohertyi) by Clements (2010), but is included as a subspecies of Red-bellied Pitta by Dickinson (2003) and Gill and Donsker (2010).
Placed in genus Erythropitta by Gill and Donsker^[3].

Habitat

Found in a variety of habitats: Dense primary rainforest, logged or heavily degraded forest, scrub, plantations, remnant forest patches with cultivation, bamboo groves and thickets near rivers. Usually in lowlands below 1200m but recorded up to 2100m in some places.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects and their larvae, earthworms and some plant material.
Forages mainly on the ground.
Breeding recorded in all monts over wide range. The domed nest is made of twigs and leaves, grass and ferns. It's mostly placed on the ground or low in scrub or a tree. Some nests were placed 10m above the ground. Lays 2 eggs (usually 3 in Australia).
A sedentary species in most of its range.

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. (2024) Red-bellied Pitta. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-bellied_Pitta

External Links

Search for photos of Red-bellied Pitta in the gallery