Indian Pitta

Indian Pitta

                 Introduction of Indian Pitta

       Indian Pitta (Scientific Name :Pitta brachyura) belongs to passerine family. It is a small indigenous bird of Indian  subcontinent which is 17 to 19 cm long and its weight is  between 45 to 65 grams.

                      How to Identify Indian Pitta

      Indian Pitta is a very colorful, small stubby-tailed bird. The adult Indian pitta has a buff colored cap from the forehead to hind crown. It has  dark brown eyes with blackish irises  and eye-ring is gray. There is a thick black eye stripe from lores to nape with a  white line below. It has long pink colored  legs.The beak of Indian Pitta is orange or brownish-orange with black tip. The short and stubby  tail is bright blue and has a black edge but the tail  is not clearly not visible because it is sometimes covered by the wings.Throat and neck is white.
     The underparts  and belly are orange-yellow or brownish-yellow and vent is  bright red .Upper parts and wings are dark bluish-green and adults have a large pale bright cobalt blue patch at the wing coverts. The black primary feathers have a large white patch in the middle that is seen only when the wings are spread. Other than bluish-green,wings can be of different color like black, emerald or white.  Both the sexes have similar plumage and the juveniles are duller.

                    Habits and Habitats

     The Pitta is a bird of well-wooded and scrubby country. It is fond of nullahs and ravines with plenty of undergrowth, deciduous as well as evergreen, and is met with both near and away from human habitations. It is mainly terrestrial in habits, but roosts at night in low trees.
               Distribution
    The Indian pitta species is found in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
               Food
    Main food of Indian pitta are insects, spiders, small worms, slugs and even small snails. They also feed on seeds and fallen fruits. Indian pitta  forage on the forest floor and under dense undergrowth. They scratch and scrape the leaf litter in search of  insect and also hop about and pick insects on the forest floor.
              Call
       Their call is a loud two-note whistle, a ."wheeet-tieu" or "wieet-pyou" which they utter mostly in the mornings,  evenings and also on cloudy overcast days. It has also  a triple note call "hh-wit-wiyu" sound. When calling they  throw back the head and point the bill upwards.

                    Breeding and Nesting

       The breeding season of the Indian Pitta  is from April and September with a peak in May to August. In Pakistan, the breeding season is mainly during July and August. These birds are monogamous.
       Though the Indian pittas roost in trees, they mostly make their nest on the ground or on low branches of shrubs. Their nest is a globular structure about a foot in diameter made up of dry leaves, fine twigs, grass, roots and grasses. The nest has a circular entrance on one side.
       The clutch is four to five eggs and  spherical in shape. They are glossy china-white with deep brown and maroon spots.
   Both the parents take the responsibility to incubate the eggs. The incubation period is 16-17 days.