Louisiade blue-breasted pitta
| Louisiade blue-breasted pitta | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Erythropitta meeki | ||||||||||||
| ( Rothschild , 1898) |
The Louisiade blue-breasted pitta ( Erythropitta meeki , Syn .: Pitta meeki ) is a little-researched passerine species of the Pittas family (Pittidae). It is on the island of Rossel in Louisiade archipelago endemic . The type epithet honors the bird and insect collector Albert Stewart Meek , who collected the type specimens for Walter Rothschild in the 1890s . Until 2015, the Louisiade blue breast pitta was considered a subspecies of the Philippines blue breast pitta ( Erythropitta erythrogaster ). However, due to morphological differences, it was split off as a separate species.
features
The Louisiade blue-breasted pitta reaches a body length of 16 to 18 cm, of which 3.5 to 4.2 cm are on the tail. The beak length is 2.2 to 2.6 centimeters.
It differs from the Philippines blue-breasted pitta in its greater body length, the lack of black-brown lateral stripes on the top of the head, the light brown (versus light blue) overcoat and the darker top. It is also characterized by a wide, black lower chest band, which is missing in the Philippines blue-breasted pitta. The skull is light gray-brown. The nape is light reddish brown. The throat is black-brown. The chin is lighter. The ear covers are washed out blue. The back and sides of the chest are dark green. The lower abdomen is red. The wide black chest band has fine red tips. There is often a protruding white patch next to the pastern joint.
Habitat and way of life
The Louisiade blue-breasted pitta inhabits forested regions, including secondary forests. Nothing is known about their way of life.
status
The Louisiade blue-breasted pitta is listed by the IUCN in the category of “ data deficient ” . Their range is limited to Rossel, the smallest of the main islands of the Louisiaden archipelago, which is moderately affected by habitat loss, especially by gold prospectors. In the early 21st century, the species was considered moderately abundant. However, there is not enough meaningful information about the population situation and only a few ornithologists have visited Rossel so far.
literature
- Josep del Hoyo , Nigel Collar, Guy M. Kirwan : Louisiade Pitta (Erythropitta meeki). In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, DA Christie, E. de Juana (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2017. (Retrieved from HBW Alive on April 9, 2017).
- Johannes Erritzøe , Helga Erritzøe: Pittas of the World - A Monograph on the Pitta Family . The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 1998, ISBN 0-7188-2961-1 .
Web links
- Erythropitta meeki inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Erythropitta meeki