Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris) [XC816624]
by nick talbot from Kakadu, West Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia (song)
Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris) [XC829617]
by James Lambert from East Point, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (song)
Nest
A large, loose, domed structure with an entrance at the side, composed of strips of bamboo leaves and other vegatable matter, sometimes on the ground, otherwise in mangoves or clumps of bamboo up to 2 meters above the ground. A peculiarity of pittas' nests is a moist 'doormat' of animal dung inside the nest chamber.
Eggs (Guide)
3 or 4; glossy, cream with sepia blotches and underlying markings of dull purple-grey; spherical; about 30 x 24 mm.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 13 - 15 days.
Subspecies
Sometimes considered conspecific with Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor). Probably better treated as as forming a superspecies with Elegant Pitta (Pitta elegans), Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor) and Black-faced Pitta (Pitta anerythra).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
iris Gould, 1842 - Coastal and sub-coastal Arnhem Land, northern Northern Territory from Port Keats east to Groote Eylandt, and Tiwi Island.
johnstoneiana Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1999 - Coastal and sub-coastal north-western Kimberley Divide, western Australia from Prince Regent River in south-west to Napier Broome Bay in the north-west.
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