''Pitta'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of birds in the Pittidae, or

pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are 44 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest relatives among other ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. They are secretive, brightly coloured birds that forage on the forest floor. They are long-legged and short-tailed with rounded wings. They all have green on their upperparts with blue wing-patches. Many have dark heads. Nest construction, incubation and rearing of nestlings is performed by both parents. Incubation is completed in some 17 days, and the nestlings are

altricial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...

and

nidicolous In biology, nidifugous ( , ) organisms are those that leave the nest shortly after hatching or birth. The term is derived from Latin ''nidus'' for "nest" and ''fugere'', meaning "to flee". The terminology is most often used to describe birds and w ...

. Some species are migratory. The

antpitta Grallariidae is a family of smallish suboscine passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central and South America known as antpittas. They are between long, and are related to the antbirds, Thamnophilidae, and gnateaters, Conopophagidae. Th ...

s, a

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

bird family of some 50 species, resemble the pittas in their hopping gait, furtive behaviour, long legs and short tails.

Taxonomy

The

''Pitta'' was erected by the French ornithologist

Louis Pierre Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collected ...

in 1816. In 1855 the English ornithologist

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoology, zoologist and author, and head of the Ornithology, ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum, London f ...

designated the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

as ''Corvus triostegus''

Sparrman Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748 – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish naturalist, abolitionist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography left, Miniature of Sparrman at the time of his travels with James Cook. By unknown artist. Born in Tensta, ...

. This is a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Corvus brachyura''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, the

Indian pitta The Indian pitta (''Pitta brachyura'') 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 migrat ...

. The word ''Pitta'' is from the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

and means "pretty", "bauble" or "pet". The genus contains 20 species, distributed from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, through southern,

eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and

south-eastern Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

, to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It was formerly the sole genus in the family and contained 31 species. However, following a 2006 study, some of the species were

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

off into two resurrected genera, ''

Erythropitta file:Black-crowned (or Black-and-crimson) Pitta (15016153385)-video.webm, 250px, Black-crowned pitta (''E. ussheri'') uttering whistles from a perch in Danum Valley Conservation Area, Danum Valley, Sabah ''Erythropitta'' is a genus of pitta. The m ...

'' and ''

Hydrornis ''Hydrornis'' is a genus of pitta in the family Pittidae. The genus contains thirteen species, found in South-east Asia. The genus was formerly merged with the genus ''Pitta (genus), Pitta'', but a 2006 study split the family into three genera. ...

'', though all members of the family continue to be known as "pittas".

Species

The genus contains 20 species:

References

Bird genera Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot Articles containing video clips {{Pittidae-stub