The Rainbow pitta (Pitta iris) is a small passerine bird in the pitta family, Pittidae. It is the only species of pitta endemic to Australia. The Rainbow pitta is unusual among the avifauna in its range for foraging exclusively on the ground.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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VermivorousVermivore (from Latin vermi, meaning "worm" and vorare, "to devour") is a zoological term for animals that eat worms (including annelids, nematodes...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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SolitaryNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe head, neck, breast, flanks, and upper belly of the Rainbow pitta are velvet black. Its upper parts are olive-green, and its lower belly and undertail coverts are scarlet red. The wings are green with a golden sheen and have a shining blue patch on the lesser wing coverts, and the flight feathers and underwing are black. The tail is olive green with a black base and the uppertail coverts sometimes have a silvery-blue band across them. The bird has a black bill, pink legs, brown eyes, and a chestnut stripe along each side of its crown. Many individuals display the pitta family's characteristic dark streaks, which can be arrow-shaped or stripes, through the middle of the feathers of the upper part of the body; examination of study skins has found around 60% of rainbow pittas have them. This varies somewhat regionally, as birds from Darwin were found to have none. Uniquely in the pitta family the streaks are not dusky or blackish but are instead bronze-coloured in this species. The plumage is essentially the same for both sexes; females may have slightly more buff-yellow in their flanks and a slightly different shade of red on the lower belly, but these differences do not make the sexes distinguishable by plumage.
Rainbow pittas are native to the Northern Territory and Western Australia. In the Northern Territory, they are found in the Top End, from Darwin east to the edge of the Arnhem Escarpment. Further east they occur on Groote Eylandt and the Wessel Islands. In Western Australia, these birds are restricted to the coastal Kimberley, from Walcott Inlet to Middle Osborn Island. They are also found on some of the islands of the Bonaparte Archipelago. Rainbow pittas do not migrate and most pairs occupy their territories year-round. Some local movements to more marginal habitats may occur during the dry season. Rainbow pittas prefer to live in monsoon forests and in adjacent vine-scrub and gallery forests and also occur in eucalypt forests, bamboo forests, paperbark forests and scrub, Lophostemon forests, and the edges of mangrove forests (but never in mangrove forests themselves). They have sometimes been found in plantations of introduced pines and may feed on open lawns in towns.
Rainbow pittas are secretive diurnal birds. They forage singly by hopping on the forest floor, then pausing to scan; leaves and soil are scratched by the feet and leaves may be flicked away by the bill. When feeding on snails, it breaks them out of the shells using roots as an anvil. Larger prey like large centipedes are shaken and dropped, then the bird retreats for a few seconds before repeating the process. Rainbow pittas have several calls and displays that they use to communicate with others of their kind. Males call significantly more than females, and both call more during the breeding season. Calling starts an hour before dawn, and is most frequent around dawn, and then at any time before 10 am and after 4 pm. One common display of Rainbow pittas is the bowing display; in this display the legs are held straight and the body held vertically, with the breast almost touching the ground. This display has only been observed being performed by males. During this display, the pitta makes a purring sound not heard at any other time. This display is territorial and is performed by neighbors along territorial boundaries, one bird displaying after another. The display and purring call are adapted to be noticeable in the dim light of the forest floor yet not so conspicuous so as to attract predators. The most commonly given call ‘teow-whit, teow-whit’ or ‘choowip-choowip’ is probably territorial as well.
Rainbow pittas are carnivores (insectivores, vermivores). Their diet pitta is dominated by insects and their larvae, other arthropods, snails, and earthworms. Near Darwin, two-thirds of the diet was earthworms; these are mostly taken during the rainy season from October to April. Insects and other arthropods are more commonly taken in the dry season; favorite insects include cockroaches, beetles, ants, caterpillars and grasshoppers, centipedes, spiders, and millipedes. Rainbow pittas will also take Carpentaria fruits that have fallen to the ground, as well as frogs and lizards.
Rainbow pittas are monogamous and form pairs that may stay together the following year after breeding, but they are more likely to find new partners. The birds breed from December through April. Breeding territories vary in size from 1.6 to 3.1 ha (4-7.7 acres); territories are larger in drier forests. Nesting sites are placed randomly through the pair's territory, although second nests in a year are placed some distance from nests used earlier that season. Nests are not used more than once; if the pair lay a new clutch in a season then a new nest is constructed. Rainbow pittas only rarely place their nests close to the ground. They usually place their nests up to 20 m (66 ft) in a tree. A nest takes about a week to build and is built by both parents. It starts as a platform of twigs, over which is built a dome. The enclosed nest is then lined with bark and leaves before a final lining of finer fibers, fern fronds, and rootlets. Entrances may be decorated with dingo hair or feathers or even wallaby dung pallets sometimes. The female usually lays 4 eggs, but some have 3 or 5. The eggs are rounded and white with sepia spots and blotches and underlying grey markings. Both parents incubate the eggs for 14 days. The chicks are born naked, with black skin and yellow claws. Their eyes open after 4 days, and the down, when it comes, is grey. Both parents feed the chicks. The nestlings fledge after 14 days. They continue to be fed for between 15 and 20 days after leaving the nest, after which they are independent of their parents, and may even be driven out of the territory by their parents. Having fledged one brood, some Rainbow pittas may build a new nest and lay a second brood. Pairs may even build the next nest while still feeding the previous brood.
There are no major threats to this species at present.
According to IUCN Red List, the Rainbow pitta is common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are decreasing.
