Blue pitta
| Blue pitta | ||||||||||||
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Blue pitta |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hydrornis cyaneus | ||||||||||||
| ( Blyth , 1843) |
The blue pitta ( Hydrornis cyaneus ) is a passerine bird of the genus Hydrornis within the family of the Pittas (Pittidae). It occurs in Southeast Asia. There are three subspecies.
The IUCN classifies the Blaupitta situation as not at risk ( least concern ).
description
Body measurements and physique
The Blaupitta reaches a length of 22 to 24 centimeters and a weight of 99 to 120 grams. The body shape is typical of species from the Pittas family. The legs are high and strong. The stump tail looks like it has been cut off. The beak is of medium length and pointed slightly downwards. The head is proportionally large to the body, but the neck is so short that the blue pitta has the squat shape typical of Pittas. The wings are short and rounded. Unlike many other pittas, they do not protrude beyond the control springs . There is a slight gender dimorphism .
In both sexes, the beak is black. The iris is dark brown. The legs and feet are pale bluish purple.
male
In the males, the forehead and the front parting are gray-brown with a slightly greenish tone. A thin black line runs in the middle. The back part of the head and the neck merge into a red-orange. The neck feathers are slightly elongated. A wide black stripe runs from the base of the beak over the eye to the neck. The ear covers are gray-green. The rest of the top of the body is blue. The hand wings are black, with the fourth to tenth hand wings each having a white point that is visible in flight, but is hardly noticeable when the wings are folded. The arm wings are black, the first two wings are each finely lined with white and the others have a slightly bluish tone.
The chin and upper throat are whitish with black spots. The streak of beard is black with fine whitish spots. The lower throat is yellow-green with no further markings. The chest, the flanks and the sides of the abdomen are pale gray-blue with fine black spots and transverse bands. The transverse banding is most noticeable on the flanks. The center of the breast is washed over with greenish tones. The middle of the abdomen and the underside of the tail, on the other hand, are whitish. The tail plumage is dark blue.
female
The females are colored similar to the males, but are overall a little more dull. The stripe that runs from the middle of the beak over the apex is dark brown in them and not black as in the males. In some females it is only hinted at. The red tint of the neck is less intense. The back and rump are dull blue-green to olive-green. Clearer shades of blue can only be found on the coat. The underside of the body is paler than that of the males. The tail plumage and the under tail covers are colored like the males.
Distribution area of the subspecies
The following three subspecies are distinguished:
- H. c. cyaneus ( Blyth , 1843) - northeast of India ( Assam and Arunachal Pradesh ) as well as from Myanmar to the south of Yunnan . In the south, the distribution area extends to the Tenasserim Mountains in the south of Thailand and over the north of Laos and Vietnam . Occasionally this subspecies is observed in the east of Bangladesh .
- H. c. aurantiacus ( Delacour & Jabouille , 1928) - southeast of Thailand and southwest of Cambodia
- H. c. willoughbyi ( Delacour , 1926) - Central area from Laos to the south of Annam .
habitat
The habitat of the Blaupitta are rainforests (primary and secondary forests). Typical for them are very humid rainforests, which are rich in steep ravines and which have rocks on the bottom with a vegetation of moss, ferns and orchids. It is also occasionally observed in tree bush thickets. In Myanmar and China, their altitude ranges from the lowlands to altitudes of 1830 meters, although they are rare in China above 1500 meters. In India it occurs occasionally at altitudes of 2000 meters. In Thailand, the blue pitta is also found in drier forests, where it populates almost exclusively primary forests.
Way of life
The blue pitta is a shy ground-dweller who is rarely exposed and, if there is danger, visits the dense undergrowth on foot. During the breeding season it is very happy to call. The spectrum of food includes insects, worms and snails, which it finds by digging through the leaf layer on the ground. It also digs in the ground with its beak, much like a thrush.
The breeding season falls from April to October. The nest is built from bamboo leaves and roots. It is vaulted and has the entrance to the interior of the nest on the side. Most of the nests are built on the ground. Sometimes, however, they also stand on a rock or a tree stump. The clutch consists of four to five eggs. Both parent birds are involved in the breeding and rearing of the young birds. The incubation period and nestling time have not yet been examined in more detail.
literature
- Johannes Erritzøe and Helga Erritzøe: Pittas of the World - A Monograph on the Pitta Family. The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 1998, ISBN 0-7188-2961-1 .
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Hydrornis cyaneus in the Internet Bird Collection