Pitta erythrogaster
Red-bellied Pitta
Other common names: Blue-breasted/Red-breasted Pitta; Macklot’s Pitta (macklotii); Sula Pitta (dohertyi)
Pitta eythrogaster measures 16 – 18 cm; male weight 50 – 65 g,and female weight female 46 – 70 g. Adult of nominate race has crown, nape and neck side deep red-brown, cheeks cinnamon; upper mantle blue, lower mantle and back dark green (variable), rump and tail blue; upperwing-coverts mostly deep blue; flightfeathers black, variably edged blue, inner secondaries mostly blue, variable small white spots on primaries; upper throat brownish, lower throat and upper breast black, sometimes with white throatband, a broad glossy blue band across breast becoming green at sides (variable), rest of underparts scarlet; iris dark brown to reddish-brown, pale olive or bluish-slate; bill black; feet dark brown with lilac tinge to greyish-blue or pinkish-slate. Female is duller, more green and less blue on breast, red of underparts a shade paler. Small dusky stripes found on upperparts and blue breastband of 24% if 585 adults examined (both sexes, all races). Juvenile is dull brown above, rump and tail tip dull blue, paler below, throat whitish, breast with dark brown and off-white spots, bill dark horn, tip and base of lower mandible paler.
Races vary considerably in plumage details: propinqua is very like nominate, but on average brighter and slightly smaller; caeruleitorques has top of head more uniformly brownish-red, brighter on nape, black band between blue breast and red belly; cellebensis has variably sized blue stripe from middcrown to nape, more blue on breast with broad black band below; palliceps resembles last but paler, crown with less blue, little or no black on breast; inspeculata is distinctive, entire head dark chestnut-brown, upperparts all blue, breastband dark blue and narrow, iris grey-brown; dohetyi is also distinctive, with entire head, neck and throat black except for chestnut crown (variable), glossy green upperparts, also narrow light blue breastband with broad blackish band below, female with white iris; rufiventris has brighter reddish nape, dull dark green to dull blue rump, no blue on mantle, pale throat, more extensive blue on breast with thin black and greenish band below; cyanonota has nape bright rufous, upperparts dull blue, cheeks and throat pale buffy-brown, entire breast pale blue, sometimes thin black line below breast; bernsteini is marginally bigger than previous, slightly paler above, blue of breast silvery; rubrinucha has pale blue on rear crown centre and behind eye, small contrasting red area on nape, no blue on mantle; piroensisi resembles previous, but darker green above, larger red nape patch; macklotii has forecrown, face and throat dark, hindcrown and nape bright orange-rufous, ear-coverts and a stripe over eye tinged blue, no blue on mantle, black lower breastband of extremely variable depth; habenichti is very like last, but nape brighter red or orange-red; aruensis resembles previous two but smaller, occasionally some blue on mantle; loriae has darker head and nape, sometimes narrow blue line on upper mantle, bill larger; oblita has nape pale yellow-brown, perhaps bluer (less green) upperparts; novaehibernicae has walnut-brown crown, contrasting reddish-orange nape bluish ear-coverts, no black on throat or breast; exima is larger than last, with some blue feathers on midcrown, more bluish-green back; gazellae differs from last in usually stronter blue line on middcrown, redder crown side; splendida has nape scarlet, thin blackish hindcollar, upperparts deep blue, breast side blue; mekki is duller, throat more greyish, broad black lower breastband finely tipped red; finschii has crown to nape uniform dull dark chestnut, upperparts deep blue, female paler brown on chin and throat.
Not Threatened, Least Concerned
16 – 18 cm; male weight 50 – 65 g,and female weight female 46 – 70 g
Taxonomy: Pitta erythrogaster Temminck, 1823, Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. Closely related to P. kochi. Wide geographical variation in plumage, with some indication that coloration varies clinally, and also in voice. Distinctive race dohertyi sometimes treated as a separate species, mainly because it shows notable plumage differences and possibly differs vocally, but other intraspecific plumage variation is considerable, and claimed vocal differences remain uncertain; future research and DNA analysis may reveal that some other races, e.g. inspeculata, novaehibernicae, rubrinucha and splendida, should also be elevated to species rank; New Guinea taxa have sometimes been treated as separate species, P. macklotii. Other described forms include thompsoni (Calauit and Culion, in W Philippines), regarded as synonymous with highly variable nominate race; obiensis (Obi I, S of Halmahera), which is indistinguishable from rufiventris; and kuehni (Kai Is) and digglesi (N Queensland, Australia), appearing to show no constant differences from macklotii, although Australian birds considered by some authors to be brighter and paler. Race habenichti perhaps also better merged with last. Twentythree subspecies recognized.
(source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * erythrogaster Temminck, 1823 - Philippine Is (except Palawan group *); propinqua (Sharpe, 1877) - Palawan and Balabac; * caeruleitorques Salvadori, 1876 - Sangihe; * inspeculata A. B. Meyer & Wiglesworth, 1894 - Talaud; * palliceps Brüggemann, 1876 - islands of Siao and Tahulandang, N of Sulawesi;* celebensis S. ; Schlegel, 1845 - Sulawesi, * including Manterawu and Togian; * dohertyi Rothschild, 1898 - Banggai Archipelago and Sula Is, E of Sulawesi;* rufiventris (Heine, 1859) - N Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera, Moti, Bacan, Mandioli, Damar, Obi,* probably also Kasiruta);* cyanonota G. R. Gray, 1860 - Ternate, off W Halmahera;* bernsteini Junge, 1958 - Gebe I (between Halmahera and Waigeo I);* rubrinucha Wallace, 1862 - Buru, in S Moluccas;* piroensis Muir & Kershaw, 1910 - Seram;* macklotii Temminck, 1834 - W & S New Guinea, including W Papuan Is (Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, Misoöl) and Yapen I in Geelvink Bay, and NE Australia (N & E Cape York Peninsula);* habenichti Finsch, 1912 - N New Guinea (Weyland Mts E to Astrolabe Bay);* aruensis Rothschild & Hartert, 1901 - Aru Is;* oblita Rothschild & Hartert, 1912 - mountains of upper R Aroa, in SE New Guinea;* loriae Salvadori, 1890 - extreme SE New Guinea (E from R Kumusi and Cloudy Bay);* extima Mayr, 1955 - New Hanover, in Bismarck Archipelago;* novaehibernicae E. P. Ramsay, 1878 - New Ireland;* splendida Mayr, 1955 - Tabar I (E of New Ireland);* gazellae Neumann, 1908 - S Bismarck Archipelago (Umboi, New Britain, Tolokiwa, Lolobau, Watom and Duke of York); finschii E. P. Ramsay, 1884 - D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago (Fergusson I, Goodenough I);* meeki Rothschild, 1898 - Louisiade Archipelago (Rossel I);* erythrogaster Temminck, 1823 - Philippine Is (except Palawan group); propinqua (Sharpe, 1877) - Palawan and Balabac; caeruleitorques Salvadori, 1876 - Sangihe I.
VOICE: Varies geographically: in Philippines “wwaaaaauuup aaaawwwwww”, first note vibrating and rising, second falling, c. 3 seconds long, repeated at invervals of 10 – 12 seconds; in New Guinea region “crooooooi-croooouw”or “karaa-karaa” c. 4.5 seconds long, second note sometimes repeated oncce or, occasionally, twice; in N Australia a rasping “quor-eye-quor-or”, last two notes drawn out, or harsh “kraa-kraa”; on Sangihe, however, a more stuttering series of notes; in Sulawesi call shorter, 2.1 seconds, and hoarser, with second note longer than first and somtimes rising at beginning or end, also drawn-out mournful “oppo” between partners; on Obi a quite different “foh-foh”; race dohertyi (Banggai and Sula Is) thought to utter trisyllabic phrase followed by very brief pause and then descending series of five drawn-out notes that decrease in volume.
Found in many habitats, from dense primary rainforest to logged or heavily degraded forest and scrub, plantations, remnant forest patches within cultivations, bamboo groves, and thickets near rivers. Often found in forest on volcanic soils in Sulawesi. Mostly in lowlands below 1200m; to at least 1400 m in SC Philippines (on Negros), and recorded to c. 1800 m in New Guinea and to 2100 m in N Moluccas (Bacan).
Stomach contents included insects and their larvae, e.g. small beetles, also snails, earthworms, and even green plant material and maize (Zea mays) seeds. Foraging behaviour poorly known; feeds mostly on forest floor, mainly by gleaning, possibly also with some digging as not infrequently seen with dirt on bill. Reported as hopping on ground, now and then pausing to inspect dead leaves, then again hopping, following irregular course, and occasionally flying up to c. 5 m between feeding sites, possibly uses “anvils” to break snail shells.
Over wide range breeding recorded in nearly all months: Nov-Sept in Philippines; singing males on territory in Jan-Mar, season probably to Oct, in Sulawesi; probably in most months in Moluccas, and nests with eggs in Nov (Buru); Mar-Jun in W & E; mostly during Dec-Apr rains in Bismarck Archipelago; Jan-Feb in Australia. Domed nest c. 17 – 22 cm in diameter, with side entrance . 5 – 6 cm across, built of twigs and leaves, some skeletonized, grass and ferns, held together with cotton or hairy plant materials, most often placed on ground of low in scrub of tree, rarely to 10 m above ground. Clutch normally 2 eggs, occasionally 3 or 4 (but usually 3 in Australia), creamy white, spotted and blotched brownish to purplish-brown with grey-lilac underlying spots, average size in Philippines (erythrogaster) 27x20 cm; both sexes incubate, female probably taking greater share of duties; incubation and fledging periods to documented.
