Pitti, also known as Pakshipitti (''pakshi'' meaning "bird" in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, Telugu and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

), is an uninhabited

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

in the

Union Territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Geography

It is located at about 24 km to the north of

Kavaratti Kavaratti (, ) is the capital of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India. Kavaratti is a census town as well as the name of the atoll upon which the town stands. It is well known for its pristine white sand beaches and calm lagoons, which m ...

, 37 km to the east of

Agatti Agatti Island () is a 7.6 km long island, situated on a coral atoll called Agatti atoll in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is west of the city of Kochi. Geography Agatti is located about 364 km off Kannur, 394 km ...

and 42.5 km to the south-southwest of

Amini Island Amini is a census town in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is also the name of the island where the town stands and of the atoll that contains that island. It lies west of the city of Kochi. History Amini Island was one of t ...

. The island is low and arid and, lacking adequate anchorage points, of difficult accessibility. There is another island with the same name in Lakshadweep which is part of the Kalpeni Atoll. Pitti Island is 300 × 200 m and devoid of vegetation. There is a dark rock on the eastern side and several stone

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

Ecology

Pitti is an important nesting place for pelagic birds such as the sooty tern (''Sterna fuliginosa''), the

greater crested tern The greater crested tern Retrieved 28 February 2012 (''Thalasseus bergii''), also called crested tern, swift tern, or great crested tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and ...

(''Sterna bergii'') and the brown noddy (''Anous stolidus''). The birds nest side by side, but not intermixed, on the dry coral rubble. There is a seasonal pattern in the breeding period of the birds. Since it has no protecting reef surrounding it, the islet is periodically rinsed by wave action and there is no accumulation of

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

on it.

Pitti Bank

Pitti is located at the southern end of Pitti Bank, a largely submerged atoll, on the same

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. Pitti Bank, also oriented along a northeast–southwest axis, is 49 km long, in the northern part from 2 to 7 km wide and in the southern part up to 18 km wide. The 11th parallel north passes across the bank. Pitti Bank may be considered a largely submerged and sunken atoll, with an estimated

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

area of , with just the two islands Amini and Pitti remaining at its opposite ends.

Administration

The island belongs to the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Kavaratti Island Kavaratti (, ) is the capital of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India. Kavaratti is a census town as well as the name of the atoll upon which the town stands. It is well known for its pristine white sand beaches and calm lagoons, which m ...

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

References

*Mondreti, R., Davidar, P. & Grémillet, D. (2018)
"Illegal egg harvesting and population decline in a key pelagic seabird colony of the Eastern Indian Ocean"
'' Marine Ornithology''. 46: 103–107.

External links

Hydrographic Description (Indian Ocean Pilot)Lagoon sizesList of AtollsAn ornithological expedition to the Lakshadweep archipelagoSources towards a history of the Laccadive Islands
Islands of Lakshadweep Atolls of India Important Bird Areas of Lakshadweep Uninhabited islands of India {{Lakshadweep-geo-stub