Indian Pitta

Pitta brachyura

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestDomed nestSmall · 56 g

What the Indian Pitta sounds like

Sonogram of the Indian Pitta: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by K L Vinay · Call · Kaiga, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The Indian pitta is a small stubby-tailed bird that is mostly seen on the floor of forests or under dense undergrowth, foraging on insects in leaf litter. It has long, strong legs, a very short tail and stout bill, with a buff-coloured crown stripe, black coronal stripes, a thick black eye stripe and white throat and neck. The upper parts are green, with a blue tail, the underparts buff, with bright red on the lower belly and vent. The bird hops on the ground to forage and has been known to get trapped in ground traps meant for small mammals.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Indian Pitta

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 10 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is June, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Indian Pitta

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 5 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Bhutan.

About the Indian Pitta

The Indian pitta also known as Navrang, is a passerine bird native to the Indian subcontinent. It inhabits scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest. It breeds in the forests of the Himalayas, hills of central and western India, and migrates to other parts of the peninsula in winter. Although very colourful, it is usually shy and hidden in the undergrowth where it picks insects on the forest floor. It has a distinctive two note whistling call which is heard at dawn and dusk. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List as the population is considered large.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Indian Pitta vs Noisy Pitta · Blue-winged Pitta vs Indian Pitta

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