Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE FREE-TOED PERCHING BIRDS
THE PITTAS
(Family Pittidce)
The Pittas form a compact group of about sixty species of small, often brilliantly colored Thrush-like birds confined essentially to southeastern Asia, with a few extending into Australia and three closely related representatives in Africa. They have long legs, the covering of the tarsus in front being entire and smooth, rather short, rounded wings with ten primaries, the first of which is of large size, and a very short tail composed of twelve feathers. The most important structural feature is afforded by the organs of voice, the intrinsic muscles of the syrinx being fixed at or near the middle of the bronchial semirings, thus excluding them from the true singing birds, where they were formerly placed. The feathers of the crown are more or less elongate and when erected form a conspicuous crest, although in all but one genus these frontal plumes are normally recumbent. A number of the species are partially migratory. The Pittas live almost entirely on the ground, where they run and hop with the greatest facility, most of them preferring the dense jungle, but some may be found in sparse bamboo jungle, gardens, or even comparatively open country. Their flight is quite strong for short distances, but they mostly prefer to escape danger by running, and they disappear with astonishing quickness in the dense tangle of vegetation. They feed almost entirely on insects, worms, and snails, and although not especially notable as songsters the males have a very sweet call, consisting of a peculiar double whistle, which they utter frequently from a low tree. They build large, oven-shaped nests either on the ground or in thick bushes, or branches near the ground, and lay four or five white eggs which are richly marked with reddish, purplish, etc.