Philippines blue breast pitta
| Philippines blue breast pitta | ||||||||||||
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Philippines blue-breasted pitta on the Philippine island of Luzon |
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| Erythropitta erythrogaster | ||||||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1823) |
The Philippines blue-breasted pitta ( Erythropitta erythrogaster ) is a passerine bird of the genus Erythropitta within the family of Pittas (Pittidae). It occurs in the Philippines. No subspecies are distinguished.
The population of the Philippines blue breast pitta is classified by the IUCN as not endangered ( least concern ).
description
The Philippines blue-breasted pitta reaches a body length of 15.4 to 18 centimeters and a weight between 46 and 70 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 slightly curved downwards. The head is large in proportion to the body, but the neck is so short that the Philippines blue-breasted 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 only a slight sexual dimorphism : the females are slightly more dull in color than the males and the throat is spotted white. The beak is black in both sexes with a lighter tip. The iris is dark brown. The feet and legs are brown to blue-gray.
The head is red-brown, the plumage is a little more reddish on the neck. A bright blue stripe on the back of the neck separates the head plumage from the dark green front back and shoulder plumage. The rest of the back and rump are bright blue. The arm and hand wings are black-brown and partly have gray-blue tips and a white spot on the inner flag. The small wing-coverts are black-brown, the medium and large wing-coverts are blue with some white spots.
The chin is pale brown and turns dark brown at the throat. While in the male the throat feathers only have slightly lighter feathers, in the female this part of the body is spotted white. In both sexes, a wide band runs over the front chest, which is shiny blue in the middle and shiny green on the sides of the chest. The lower chest, belly and under tail coverts are bright red.
Possible confusion
In the distribution area of the Philippines blue-breasted pitta also occurs the cap pitta , which colonizes the same habitats as this species. The cap pitta has a purely black head with a reddish brown cap and can be distinguished from the Philippines blue-breasted pitta.
Distribution area and habitat
The Philippines blue-breasted pitta occurs in the Philippines, including the Philippine islands of Palawan and Balabac , which are located far to the west . The preferred habitat are dense forests, where they populate secondary forests as well as primary forests. It is also found in bamboo groves and thickets along rivers. The altitude distribution is different on the individual Philippine islands. On Luzon, the altitude range extends up to 610, on Sibuyan it occurs up to 858 meters above sea level. On Negros , Philippines blue-breasted pittas have been observed at altitudes of 1250 meters. On this island, however, forests with a closed canopy layer are rare and can only be found from this altitude.
Way of life
The Philippines blue-breasted pitta eats a wide variety of insects and their larvae. Only ants are not eaten by it. According to some reports, it is also said to eat green parts of plants, for example fresh corn seeds, but this has not yet been adequately investigated.
This Pitta species finds its food exclusively on the ground by searching the layer of leaves there. It uses its beak like a thrush.
The breeding season has not yet been adequately investigated. Breeding Philippines blue-breasted pittas have been observed in Luzon in August and in Palawan in September. Young birds were also observed on Luzon in December. The nest is usually on the ground and is often built right next to a tree trunk. Very rarely the nest is also built on a low branch or a tree stump. The clutch usually consists of two eggs. The incubation period and nestling time have so far been little studied.
literature
- Johannes Erritzøe and Helga Erritzoe: 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 on Erythropitta erythrogaster in the Internet Bird Collection