Black head and brown crown make Hooded Pitta Pitta sordida easy to recognize. Rare in China; cucullata breeds southern Yunnan, to 2000 m (6,560 ft.). HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Hops on forest floor like a thrush, foraging for insects and earthworms. ID Upperparts dark green, underparts light green, with a sky-blue shoulder patch and rump. Crimson belly patch reaches to undertail coverts, and has black patch (sometimes difficult to see) above the red on belly. Black flight feathers with large, rounded, white patch on primaries. Very short, black tail. Juvenile duller. BARE PARTS Bill short, black; feet dull pink. VOICE Fluty, whistled song follows pattern similar to Fairy Pitta P. nympha, but two-part song consists of two single and faster notes, not doubled notes. Song usually repeated at long intervals. — Craig Brelsford
THE PITTAS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers all species in China in the family Pittidae. Click any link:
Eared Pitta Hydrornis phayrei
Rusty-naped Pitta H. oatesi
Blue-naped Pitta H. nipalensis
Blue-rumped Pitta H. soror
Blue Pitta H. cyaneus
Blue-winged Pitta Pitta moluccensis
Hooded Pitta P. sordida
Fairy Pitta P. nympha
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
