Rainbow pitta
| Rainbow pitta | |
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| Nominate race | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pittidae |
| Genus: | Pitta |
| Species: | P. iris |
| Binomial name | |
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Pitta iris Gould, 1842 |
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| Range in red | |
The rainbow pitta (Pitta iris) is a small passerine bird in the pitta family Pittidae, endemic to northern Australia. The species is most closely related to the superb pitta of Manus Island. A colourful bird, it has a velvet black head with chestnut stripes above the eyes, olive green upper parts, black underparts, a bright red belly and an olive green tail. An Australian endemic, the rainbow pitta lives in the monsoon forests, as well as some drier eucalypt forests.
As with other pittas, it is a secretive and shy bird. The diet consists mainly of insects, arthropods and small vertebrates. Pairs defend territories and breed during the rainy season, as this time of year provides the most food for nestlings. The female lays three to four eggs with blotches inside its large domed nest. Both parents defend the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Although the species has a small global range it is locally common and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.
The rainbow pitta was described by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1842 based on a specimen collected on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia. The specific name iris is taken from Ancient Greek iris for "rainbow"; this is the origin of the common name as well.
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Wikipedia