Wildlifeof Sri Lanka
Indian Pitta
Songbirds
Photo: Janne Teivonen · CC BY 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Pitta brachyura
Basic stats
Diet
Insects picked from the forest floor
Habitat
Scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest
Range
Breeds in the Himalayas and hills of central and western India; winters across the peninsula
The Indian pitta, also called navrang, is a passerine native to the Indian subcontinent. It inhabits scrub jungle and deciduous and dense evergreen forest, breeding in the forests of the Himalayas and the hills of central and western India and moving to other parts of the peninsula in winter. Although very colourful, it is usually shy and hidden in the undergrowth, picking insects from the forest floor (Wikipedia, general species account).
It has a distinctive two-note whistling call, heard at dawn and dusk. Linnaeus gave the type location as the Moluccas and Zeylona; the Moluccas is an error, as the species does not occur there. It is monotypic. The 2012 National Red List gives no status under this name.
Quick answers
- What does the Indian Pitta eat?
- Insects picked from the forest floor
- What habitat does the Indian Pitta live in?
- Scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest
- Where is the Indian Pitta found?
- Breeds in the Himalayas and hills of central and western India; winters across the peninsula