Jewelry pitta
| Jewelry pitta | ||||||||||||
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Schmuckpitta ( Pitta elegans ), male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pitta elegans | ||||||||||||
| Temminck , 1836 |
The Schmuckpitta ( Pitta elegans ) is a Sperling bird from the genus Pitta within the family of the Pitta (Pittidae). It occurs in the Indonesian archipelago and the Malay archipelago . Several subspecies are distinguished in the large distribution area, which differ in the color of the cap, the sides of the body and the lower abdomen.
The IUCN classifies the status of the jewelry pitta as harmless ( least concern ).
description
The jewelry pitta reaches a length of 18 to 19 centimeters and a weight of 47 to 77 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 bent downwards. The head is large in proportion to the body, but the neck is so short that the decorative pitta has the squat shape typical of Pittas. The wings are short and rounded. They protrude just above the control springs .
The hood and the neck are velvety black and bordered by a pale isabel-colored stripe that runs from the beak to the neck. The rest of the head is black. The top of the body is green, with the rump shimmering turquoise. The wings are black with brown feather tips and a larger proportion of white on the fourth to eighth wings. The ninth and tenth wings of the hand only have white on the inside vane. The arm wings, on the other hand, are black with green feather edges. While the large and medium feather coverts are green like the back, the small wing coverts shine turquoise blue.
The chin and throat are black, the lower throat and sides of the neck are whitish. The rest of the underside of the body is cinnamon-colored, the color of the chest and flanks being a little darker. There is a reddish brown spot on the upper abdomen, which turns into a bright red on the lower abdomen. The under tail-coverts are scarlet, the tail plumage is black with green feathers.
Possible confusion
There are several other Pitta species in the distribution area of the jewelry pitta, with which it can be confused. The noise pitta has a brown vertex with a black line on the center of the vertex. The black-faced pitta has a black head like the ornamental pitta, but the crown feathers have maroon tips. The Indian Pitta , the Great Blauflügelpitta , the blue-winged pitta and the fairy pitta have white throats. The rainbow pitta is completely black on the underside of the body.
Distribution area and habitat
The jewelry pitta occurs on the Moluccas , Sulawesi , the Lesser Sunda Islands and on islands near Bali . The individual subspecies occur in the following regions:
- P. e. concinna - Gould, 1857 - Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Penida, Lombok , Sumbawa , Flores , Adonara, Lembata and Alor).
- P. e. maria - EJO Hartert, 1896 - Sumba
- P. e. virginalis - EJO Hartert, 1896 - South of Sulawesi (Tanahjampea, Kalao and Kalaotoa).
- P. e. elegans - Temminck, 1836 - Semau, Timor, Kisar, possibly also Roti; as non-breeding birds also on Rang and Tahulandang in the north of Sulawesi, Ternate, Banggai , the Sula Islands and parts of the Moluccas (Buru, Boano, Seram).
- P. e. vigorsii - Gould, 1838 - south of the Moluccas (Banda, Kasiui, Kur, Tiur), Kai Islands and east of the Lesser Sunda Islands (Damar, Babar); already observed on Seram and the Tanimbar Islands .
The habitat are forests, forest edges, small forest areas along rivers and thickets up to altitudes of 1000 meters.
Way of life
The jewelry pitta has so far been little researched. Presumably their food spectrum includes mainly insects. Birds examined in Timor had numerous small beetles in their stomachs. Ornamental pittas observed on Sumbawa often looked for food in the company of gray-capped pigeons . What is unusual for Pittas is that when disturbed they are blown away and do not seek cover on foot. Johannes Erritzøe et al. attribute this to the fact that it lives in somewhat more sparse forests than other Pittas. The clutch consists of two to three eggs.
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 .
