Rainbow Pitta
| Rainbow Pitta | |
|---|---|
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pittidae |
| Genus: | Pitta |
| Species: | P. iris |
| Binomial name | |
| Pitta iris Gould, 1842 |
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The Rainbow Pitta, Pitta iris, is a bird with a velvet black head and underparts, green upperparts, pale blue shoulder and olive green tail. It has a black bill, pink legs, brown eye and reddish brown streak along each side of its crown. Both sexes are similar, with the female being slightly smaller and duller than the male.
An Australian endemic, the Rainbow Pitta lives in the forests of northern Australia. As with other pittas, it is a secretive and shy bird. The diet consists mainly of insects, arthropods and small animals. The female lays three to four glossy cream eggs with blotches inside its large domed nest.
Locally common throughout its limited range, the Rainbow Pitta is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Pitta iris. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 30 October 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- IUCN Red List
- [1] Many Australian bird pictures and calls
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