Superb pitta | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Pittidae |
Genus: | Pitta |
Species: | P. superba |
Binomial name | |
Pitta superba Rothschild & Hartert, 1914 |
The superb pitta (Pitta superba) is a large pitta.
It is about 22 cm long. It has black plumage with turquoise blue wings, a scarlet belly and green-tipped secondaries. Both sexes are almost similar. The female is a slightly smaller and duller than the male. As with other pittas, it is a secretive and rarely seen terrestrial bird. The diet consists mainly of snails.
The superb pitta is distributed and endemic to primary and secondary forests of Manus Island of Papua New Guinea. Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range and small population size, it is evaluated as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.