Fairy Pitta
Pitta nympha
The Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha) is a rare pitta found in 15 countries, weighing about 88 g. The fairy pitta is a small and brightly colored species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae.
About the Fairy Pitta
The fairy pitta is a small and brightly colored species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae. Its diet mainly consists of earthworms, spiders, insects, slugs, and snails. The fairy pitta breeds in East Asia and migrates south to winter in Southeast Asia. Due to various habitat and anthropogenic disruptions, such as deforestation, wildfire, hunting, trapping, and cage-bird trade, the fairy pitta is rare and the population is declining in most places. Listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II, this bird is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The fairy pitta has a body length of 16–19.5 cm (6.3–7.7 in) and is easily discernible for its plumage of seven different colors reminiscent of a rainbow. Its back and wing bows are green, scapulars and upper tail coverts are green and cobalt. There is a blue rump on upper tail coverts. The tail is dark green with a cobalt tip, and the tarsi are yellowish brown. The fairy pitta has different colors of wing coverts as well. Its primary coverts are dark blue, secondary coverts are greenish blue, greater and middle coverts are dark green, and lesser coverts are cobalt or bright blue.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Australia, Japan, China, Mongolia.
When to see it
Best months: April, May, June, July, September, October, November, with peak activity in May. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Fairy Pitta?
- The fairy pitta has a body length of 16–19.5 cm (6.3–7.7 in) and is easily discernible for its plumage of seven different colors reminiscent of a rainbow. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Fairy Pitta?
- The Fairy Pitta is a medium sized bird weighing about 88 g.
- Where can you see a Fairy Pitta?
- The Fairy Pitta occurs in 15 countries, including Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong SAR China and Singapore.
- What birds look similar to a Fairy Pitta?
- The Fairy Pitta is most easily confused with the Eastern Hooded Pitta, the Ornate Pitta and the Ivory-breasted Pitta.
- Is the Fairy Pitta endangered?
- The Fairy Pitta is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Fairy Pitta for real
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