Voice
Calls from the ground or from forest canopy perches. Loud, mellow, tremulous, drwan-out pigeon-like coo or whistle 'whoooo-weooh', rising then dropping. Can be enticed imitating its call.
Nest
A large, domed structure with an entrance at the side, composed of twigs and leaves, lined with fine, hair-like fibers, on a stump or in a mass of vines about 1 meter above the ground. A peculiarity of pittas' nests is a moist 'doormat' of animal dung inside the nest chamber.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4; glossy, cream with purple-brown and blue-grey markings; spherical; about 28 x 23 mm. Incubation: extralimitally by both male and female, though female probably doing the most.
Subspecies
Other described forms include thompsoni (Calauit and Culion, in western Philippines), regarded as synonymous with highly variable nominate race; obiensis (Obi I, south of Halmahera), which is indistinguishable from rufiventris; and kuehni (Kai Is) and digglesi (northern Queensland, Australia), appearing to show no constant differences from macklotii, although Australian birds considered by some authors to be brighter and paler. Subspecies habenichti perhaps also better merged with macklotii.
Subspecies digglesi Cape York Peninsula and Fly - Digeol Region of southern New Guinea.
The following 24 subspecies are recognised:
erythrogaster (Temminck, 1823) - Philippine Is (except Palawan group).
propinqua (Sharpe, 1877) - Palawan and Balabac.
caeruleitorques Salvadori, 1876 - Sangihe I. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sangihe Pitta (Erythropitta caeruleitorques).
inspeculata (Meyer, AB & Wiglesworth, 1894) - Talaud Is. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Talaud Pitta (Erythropitta inspeculata).
palliceps Brüggemann, 1876 - Islands of Siao and Tahulandang, north of Sulawesi. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Siau Pitta (Erythropitta palliceps).
celebensis S. Müller and Schlegel, 1845 - Sulawesi, including Manterawu and Togian Is. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sulawesi Pitta (Erythropitta celebensis).
dohertyi Rothschild, 1898 - Banggai Is. (Peleng, Banggai) and Sula Is. (Taliabu, Seho, Mangole). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sula Pitta (Erythropitta dohertyi).
rufiventris (Heine, 1859) - Northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera, Moti, Bacan, Mandioli, Damar, Obi, probably also Kasiruta). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, North Moluccan Pitta (Erythropitta rufiventris).
cyanonota G. R. Gray, 1860 - Ternate, off western Halmahera. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of North Moluccan Pitta (Erythropitta rufiventris).
bernsteini Junge, 1958 - Gebe I (between Halmahera and Waigeo I). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of North Moluccan Pitta (Erythropitta rufiventris).
rubrinucha Wallace, 1862 - Buru, in southern Moluccas. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, South Moluccan Pitta (Erythropitta rubrinucha).
piroensis Muir and Kershaw, 1910 - Seram. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of South Moluccan Pitta (Erythropitta rubrinucha).
macklotii Temminck, 1834 - Western and southern New Guinea, including western Papuan Is (Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, Misoöl) and Yapen I in Geelvink Bay, and north-eastern Australia (northern and eastern Cape York Peninsula). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Papuan Pitta (Erythropitta macklotii).
habenichti Finsch, 1912 - Northern New Guinea (Weyland Mts east to Astrolabe Bay). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Papuan Pitta (Erythropitta macklotii).
aruensis Rothschild and Hartert, 1901 - Aru Is.
oblita Rothschild and Hartert, 1912 - Mountains of upper R Aroa, in south-eastern New Guinea.
loriae Salvadori, 1890 - Extreme south-eastern New Guinea (eastern from R Kumusi and Cloudy Bay). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Papuan Pitta (Erythropitta macklotii).
extima Mayr, 1955 - New Hanover, in Bismarck Archipelago. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of New Ireland Pitta (Erythropitta novaehibernicae).
novaehibernicae E. P. Ramsay, 1878 - New Ireland. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, New Ireland Pitta (Erythropitta novaehibernicae).
splendida Mayr, 1955 - Tabar I (east of New Ireland). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Tabar Pitta (Erythropitta splendida).
gazellae Neumann, 1908 - Southern Bismarck Archipelago (Umboi, New Britain, Tolokiwa, Lolobau, Watom and Duke of York). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, New Britain Pitta (Erythropitta gazellae).
finschii E. P. Ramsay, 1884 - D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago (Fergusson I, Goodenough I). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Papuan Pitta (Erythropitta macklotii).
meeki Rothschild, 1898 - Louisiade Archipelago (Rossel I). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Louisiade Pitta (Erythropitta meeki).
yairocho (Hachisuka, 1935) - Sulu Islands, Philippines.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet